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IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT.3) 


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1.0 


1.1 


11.25 


itt  Slii   122 


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IB 
HI 

111 


us. 


2.0 


U    11.6 


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Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


23  WIST  MAIN  STRUT 

WIBSTM.N.Y.  HSM 

(716)  173-4303 


CIHM/ICMH 

CIHM/ICMH 

k 

Microfiche 

Collection  de 

Series. 

microfiches. 

Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notea/Notas  tachniques  at  bibliographiquaa 


Tl 
to 


Tha  Instituta  hta  attamptad  to  obtain  tha  baat 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Faaturaa  of  thia 
copy  which  may  ba  bibliographically  unique, 
which  may  altar  any  of  tha  imagea  in  tha 
reproduction,  or  which  may  aignificantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checiced  below. 


n 


n 


n 


n 


n 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 


I      I   Covers  damaged/ 


Couverture  endommagte 


Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaurie  et/ou  pellicula 


I     I   Cover  title  missing/ 


Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 


I      I    Coloured  maps/ 


Car:es  gAographiques  en  couleur 


Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 


I      I   Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 


Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 


Bound  with  other  material/ 
Belli  avac  d'autres  documents 


Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  re  liure  serrie  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
distortion  le  long  de  la  marge  intirieure 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  tha  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanchaa  ajouties 
lors  d'une  restauration  apparaissent  dans  le  texte. 
mais.  lorsque  ceia  itait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  its  filmies. 


[^ 


Additional  comments:/ 
Commentaires  supplimentairas; 


Various  pagingt. 


L'Institut  a  microfilmi  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  M  possible  de  se  procurer.  Las  ditsils 
de  cet  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut-itra  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographiqua,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
una  image  reproduite.  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  mithode  normale  de  filmage 
sont  indiquis  ci-dessous. 


□   Coloured  pages/ 
Pages  de  couleur 

□   Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommagies 

I     1/Pagas  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Lk]    Pages  restauries  et/ou  pelliculies 

I      I    Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 


D 


Pages  dicoiories,  tachaties  ou  piquies 

Pages  detached/ 
Pages  ditachies 

Showthroughy 
Transparence 

Quality  of  prir 

Quadti  inigale  de  I'impression 

Includes  supplementary  matarit 
Comprend  du  matirial  suppiimentaire 

Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  idifion  disponible 


I     I   Pages  detached/ 

r~l/  Showthrough/ 

r~n   Quality  of  print  varies/ 

I     I   Includes  supplementary  material/ 

I — I    Only  edition  available/ 


Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  ref timed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partiallement 
obscurcies  par  un  fauillet  d'errata,  une  pnlure, 
etc.,  ont  iti  filmies  i  nouveau  de  fapon  A 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


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This  item  is  filmed  at  tha  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  filmi  au  taux  de  riduction  indiqui  ci-dessous. 


10X 

14X 

18X 

22X 

26X 

30X 

7 

12X 


16X 


aox 


24X 


28X 


32X 


The  copy  filmed  here  hat  been  reproduced  thanka 
to  the  generosity  of: 

Library  of  the  Public 
Archives  of  Canada 

The  Images  appearing  here  are  the  best  t^uality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  ''•gibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  In  keeping  wllh  the 
filming  contract  specifications. 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  paga  with  a  printed  or  Illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  cm  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  thn  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  ^^-  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  Y  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 


L'exemplaire  film*  fut  reproduit  grice  A  la 
g^nArositi  de: 

La  bIbliothAque  des  Archives 
publiques  du  Canada 

Les  images  suh/antes  ont  AtA  reproduites  avec  le 
plus  grand  soln,  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  at 
de  la  nettetA  de  l'exemplaire  film*,  Sit  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
fllmaga. 

Les  exemplalres  orlgln<^ux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  ImprimAe  sont  f  ilmte  en  commenpant 
par  le  premier  plat  at  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
dernlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impresslon  ou  d'lllustration,  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  salon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplalres 
origlnaux  sont  fllmAs  en  commengant  par  la 
premiere  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impresslon  ou  d'illustratlon  at  en  terminant  par 
la  dernMre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparattra  sur  la 
dernlAre  Image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbols  — »*  signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  le 
symbols  ▼  signifie  "FIN". 


Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  Included  in  one  exposure  are  fMmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  lert  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  Illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  Atre 
filmte  A  des  taux  de  reduction  diff Arents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  Atre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clichA,  11  est  fllmA  A  partir 
de  Tangle  supArieur  gauche,  de  gauche  A  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'Images  nAcesssire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
lliustrent  la  mAthoda. 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

. 


Jan.  Sess.  1828.] 


[Doc.  No.  13. 


REPORT 


or   THE 


#; 


JOINT  SELECT  COMMITTEE 


■AD 


*->  ■ 


.1  jf 


«4  !.<,.;:>(;„ 


OP   TUX 


Btmu  anrt  Tl^mut  ok  mpvtntutMitu, 


or   THE 


J   i 


■':*; 


STATE  OF  MAINE,. 

\'  ■■"■■■     ■■'      '  .'  ■•   -     '     ■-■•      *-<',-   .,'  ■_(.'■.;■■  •■-      '      . 

'W   RBLATIOir    TO   THl 

nORTH-EASTERK  BOUNDARY 

-      OF  THE  STATE. 


II 


Printed  by  Order  of  tho  Legislature. 


PORTL A  BID,     .       ' 

rnOMAS    TODD,    PRINTBR    TO   THE   KTATK. 


i 


i-/isi 


STATE  OF  MAIWE. 


In  Senate,  Jan.  4,  1828. 

Ordered:  That  so  much  of  the  Communicaticn  made  by 
the  Governor  to  the  Legislature,  with  the  accompanying 
documents  as  relates  to  the  North-Eastern  Boundary  of  this 
State,  be  referred  to 

Messrs.  Megquier, 

Williams,  and 
Hathaway, 

With  such  of  the  House  as  may  join,  and  that  the  Commit- 
tee be  authorized  to  cause  such  of  the  accompanying  docu- 
ments to  be  published,  as  in  their  opinion  the  public  good 
requires. 

Read  and  passed.  , 

Sent  down  for  concurrence. 

ROBERT  P.  DUNLAP,  President, 


House  of  Representatives^  Jan.  5,  1828. 

Read  and  concurred,  and 

Messrs.  Deane,  of  Ellsworth, 
Fuller,  of  Augusta, 
Vance  of  Baring, 
Carpenter,  of  Howland, 
BlMRNHAM,  of  Unitv, 

Were  joined. 

JOHN  RUGGLES,  Hfttaker. 


I 


REPORT. 


is 


k 


t- 
1- 


a 


il 


3. 


I 


The  aforesaid  Joint  Select  Committee  of  the  Senate  and 
House  of  Representatives  of  the  State  of  Maine,  have  consid- 
ered the  whole  subject  submitted  to  them  by  the  aforesaid 
Order,  to  wit  :  All  the  Governor's  Message  which  relates  to 
the  North-Eastern  Boundary,*  which  is  as  follows,  to  wit:— 
*'  In  the  number  of  our  resources  is  one  so  conspicuous,  that 
it  must  early  attract  your  notice.  It  is  that  of  a  wild  and 
fertile  territory,  embracing  about  six  millions  of  acres.  It  is 
not  necessary  now  to  attempt  to  show  how  evidently  it  is 
subject  to  your  jurisdi':tion,  nor  to  speak*  of  its  distinguis^hed 
natural  advantages  -which  imjiart  to  it  the  capacity  of  sustain- 
ing some  hundred  thousand  yeomen.  Valuable,  or  rather 
invaluable,  as  it  is,  we  ought  without  hesitation  to  surrender 
it  if  we  cannot  with  justice  support  that  claim  to  it  which 
unfortunately  now  stands  opposed  under  the  difficulty  of  an 
ingenuity  which  has  endeavored  to  obscure  the  line,  and  an 
opposition,  which,  I  trust,  you  will  dispassionately  authorize 
to  be  resisted  under  the  limitations  o'  a  cautious  and  prudent, 
yet  decided  policy. 

*'  The  Government  of  the  State,  with  the  exemplary  mode- 
ration always  creditable  and  necessary,  has  for  years  re 
frained  from  the  exercitje  of  many  of  its  rights.  It. has  been 
induced  to  do  so,  as  may  be  inferred,  from  its  anxious  desire  to 
accommodate  to  the  wishes  of  the  federal  administration,  and 
its  disposition  to  avoid  collisions,  inevitably  unfortunate,  in 
any  result.  At  the  same  time,  it  cannot  abandon  its  obliga- 
tions, its  title  deeds,  and  its  rights.  It  cannot  allow  the  citi- 
zens to  be  incarcerated  in  foreign  gaols.  The  State  would 
shrink  most  dreadfully  under  the  shame  of  such  a  submission. 
For  the  sake  of  being  fully  informed,  it  has  for  several  years 
solicited  tiie  documents  possessed  by  the  general  government 
in  relation  to  this  subject.  It  is  with  great  confidence  that 
I  urge  its  consideration  now,  inasmuch  as  all  that  has  been 
requested  has  been  supplied  agreeably  to  what  was  uivderstood 
to  be  the  wish  of  the  last  Legislature.  That  invaluable  mass 
of  documents,  now  in  the  Secretary's  Office,  and  tite  copies 
of  communications  between  myself  and  others  contain  nearly 
all  that  I  can  offer.  The  delicate  nature  of  the  subject  indu- 
ces me  to  ask  a  particular  examination  in  reference  to  publi- 


cation,  if  that  shall  be  proposed,  yet,  there  is  no  wish  on  Aiy 
part  that  what  has  been  written  by  my  sell'  shall  be  disposed 
of  in  one  way  in  preference  to  the  other.  On  the  most 
thoughtful  reviiial,  I  find  no  past  deviations  from  my  existing 
seuiiments,  and  am  bound  to  sustain  the  most  rigorous  respon- 
sibility. 

^<  Amidst  the  viewi  urged,  has  been  a  primary  one  of  that 
nature,  requiring  its  being  submitted  to  you  for  correction,  if 
desired-  ft  is  in  relation  to  the  undefined  and  perhaps  uiide- 
finabie  line  of  rights  between  States'  and  United  Stales' 
authpritv,  along  which  construction  is  constantly  urging  dis- 
puted claims,  and,  in  general,  has  much  the  advantage  in 
irruptions  upon  the  States.  The  Executive  of  the  Union  has 
been  considered  as  disposed  to  submit  tiie  que:jtion  of  the 
boundary  of  Maine,  with  a  perfectly  friendly  intent,  but 
without  regarding  her  as  a  party,  to  the  umpirage  of  a  foreign 
authority.  The  submission  itself  admits  the  possibility  of  an 
unju!<t  and  disastrous  decision.  While  it  is  not  presumed  to 
cast  a  shadow  of  suspicion  on  the  integrity  with  which  that 
authority  may  be  exercii^ed,  nor  upon  the  motives  of  aay 
person  whomsoever,  it  has,  nevertheless,  been  deemed  a  suita- 
ble precaution  to  urge  the  following  propositions.  It  cannot 
be  arrogance  which  asserts  them  as  materials  of  a  monument 
of  the  rights  of  our  employers,  which  will  become  firm  by 
time,  when  properly  combined  and  cemented  by  your  refiec- 
tions.  If  any  feeling  has  been  displayed  on  my  part,  it  has 
been  indulged  with  a  view  of  eliciting  results  which  it  was 
believed  Would  be  salutary  and  acceptable.  At  the  same  time 
there  has  been  no  intension  to  abandon  those  prudential  con- 
siderations entirely  consistent  with  a  free  assertion  of  what 
it  might  be  suppo^sed  the  people,  through  their  Representa- 
tives, would  eventually  approve  and  sustain. 

"  At  the  period  of  forming  the  treaty  of  1783,  Massachu- 
setts and  the  other  Colonies  were  independent  of  each  other,  as 
to  territorial  rights.  The  United  States,  as  such,  did  not 
exi'it. 

*'  Although  the  colonies  constituted  common  agents  to  form 
that  treaty,  the  territorial  rights  secured  did  not,  by  virtue 
of  that  instrument,  accrue  to  the  nation,  but  were  merely 
acknowledged  and  confirmed  by  it  to  the  existing  individual ' 
corporations,  according  to  pre-existing  grants,  crown  lands 
only  being  excepted. 

'*  When  the  Union  of  the  States  was  framed,  in  that  happy 
arrangement  we  are  still  permitted  to  witness,  and  which  crea- 
ted a  general  guardianship,  without  extinguishing  a  particular 
independence,  the  compact  left  Massachusetts  the  Proprietor, 


\ 


as  one  party,  in  severalty  of  all  her  soil.  She  held  it  fully 
with  undiminished  interest,  and  has  conceded  her  jurisdic- 
tional control  only  by  that  magnanimous  act,  usually  called 
the  Separation,  which  received  validity  from  the  concurrence 
of  Congress. 

**  The  Union  having  no  right  to  cede  the  territory,  the 
treaty  making  power,  as  only  a  constituent  part,  cannot  exer- 
cise a  function  beyond  the  grasp  of  the  delegated  power  over 
the  wholej  nor,  indirectly,  by  an  umpire,  do  what  it  could 
not  accomplish  without  ;  that  is,  consent  to  the  alienation, ' 
or  the  possibility  of  an  alienation  of  territory,  which  I  will  ' 
show  is  solemnly  acknowledged  through  the  President,  to  be 
ours. 

*■''  It  has,  therefore,  been  believed  to  be  due  this  State  to 
advance  the  doctrine  that  the  submission  of  its  boundary^ 
to  an  umpire,  unknown  to  herself,  and  upon  terms  not  confided  ' 
to  her  consideration,  will  leave  her  at  liberty  to  aet  upon  the 
result  as  to  the  country  and  herself  may  be  dictated  by  the 
most  just  and  patriotic  mclinations.     Yet  if  it  be  true  that  the 
fifth  article  of  the  Treaty  of  Ghent  has  involved  much  of 
federal  authority,  beyond  the  limits  which  many  eminent  I 
statesmen  have  contended  to  be  the  true  ones,  as  the  treaty  - 
exists,  the  delicacy  of  the  Case,  in  relation  to  public  faith, 
ought  to  have  some  influence  upon  our  assertion  of  our  claim, ' 
although  an  entire  concession  be  expected.     It  ought  to  be 
distinctly  understood  that  there  is  a  perfect  harmony  of  senti*-  *- 
ment   with   the   federal   administration    in   a    most   essential 
particular,  in  regard  to  which  the  language  of  Mr.  Clay,  the 
Secretary  of  State,  is  calculated  to  be  highly  satisfactory. 
It  is  as  follows  :   Tlie  Government  of  the   United  States  is  fully 
convinced  that  the  right  to  the  territory  is  toith  vs  and  not  mlh 
Cfreat  Britain.     The  convictions  of  Maine  are  not  stronger  in 
respect  to  the  validity  oj  our  title  j  than  are  those  which  are  enter- 
tained by  the  President."  ■' 

"  Whatever  may  be  the  character  of  the  proposed  umpi- 
rage, it  seems  necessary  to  adopt  some  rule  of  procedure 
as  to  the  duties  to  be  discharged  before  its  results  shall 
be  known,  and  I  cannot  but  hope  to  learn  from  you,  in  some 
way,  what  measures  yon  will  consider  to  be  proper,  if  such 
acts  as  that  of  the  arre«t  and  incarceration  of  Baker  shall  be 
repeated.  There  will  be  no  wish  to  go  beyond  your  direc- 
tion, nor  to  fall  short  of  it  ;  and,  thus  far,  while  the  object 
has  been  to  give  no  assent  to  injustice,  there  has  been  a  steady 
view  to  your  contemplated  consultations  and  probable  com-t 
mands.  It  was  an  arrest  which  the  testimony  seems  to  me  to 
condemn  ;  yet  it  cannot  but  be  hoped  that  the  neighboring 


government  wiH  place  right  the  hasty  acts  of  unthinking 
agents,  arid  that  we,  expecting  that  generous  conduct  which 
springs  from  tlie  character  of  an  Englishinan,  should  not  sud- 
denly and  unnecessarily  engage  with  him  in  contentions. 
While  we  were  acquiescing  in  the  abeyance  of  our  rights,  as 
connected  only  \vita  property,  the  call  for  interposition  was 
not  imperative,  but  when  unauthorized  power  was  applied 
to  the  persons  of  our  citizens  along  th«  Aroostook  and  in  other 
places,  it  seemed  proper  to  ascertain  the  facts,  in  order  to 
submit  them  to  your  consideration  and  to  that  of  Massachu- 
setts and  the  nation,  both  of  which  will  feel  an  interest,  not 
only  in  the  protection  of  our  fellow  citizens  in  Maine,  but 
in  the  other  relations  of  the  subject.  A  letter  was,  therefore, 
sent  to  the  Lieutenant  Governor  of  New  Brunswick,  contain- 
ing a  request  that  he  would  cause  information  of  the  facts 
relating  to  the  arrest  of  Baker,  to  be  returned.  While  in  his 
reply  he  acknowledged,  in  favorable  terms,  the  amicable 
disposition  professed  by  this  government,  so  far  as,  on  the  oc- 
casion, it  was  represented,  he  declined  to  make  the  explana- 
tions requested,  excepting  to  those  with  whom  he  is  directed 
to  correspond,  or  under  whose  orders  he  is  placed. 

<'It  must  be  known  to  you  that  in  addition  to  the  means  above 
mentioned,  Mr.  Daveis  was  appointed  to  obtain  the  information 
which  all  have  appeared  to  consider  desirable.  From  what 
has  transpired  there  is  no  doubt  in  my  mind  of  the  intention  of 
the  government  of  New  Brunswick  to  extend  it^  jurisdiction 
and  to  confirm  it,  if  possible,  over  the  whole  disputed  territory. 

^'I  cannot  but  profess  to  you  the  disposition  on  my  own  part, 
subject  to  your  direction,  to  offer  some  difficulties  against  such 
a  course  ;  but  it  is  not  to  be  doubted,  that  the  United  States' 
government  and  that  of  Great  Britain,  will  perceive,  on  being 
furnished  the  facts,  that  the  government  of  New  Brunswick 
has  advanced  beyond  the  line  of  tenable  ground,  and  seems  not 
to  have  listened  to  those  recommendations  of  mutual  forbear- 
ance, which  have  been  rung  so  loud  that  we  did  not  notice  its 
invasions. 

"Another  of  the  objects  of  the  mission  of  Mr.  Daveis  was  to 
obtain  the  release  of  Mr.  Baker,  whose  arrest  was  thought  to 
be  not  only  cognizable  by  the  United  States,  but  by  the  par- 
ticular State  of  which  he  is  a  citizen.  His  confinement  in  the 
gaol  at  Frederickton  was  an  act  of  power,  which,  considering 
the  nature  of  the  facts  as  far  as  developed,  required  early  at- 
tention, and  the  course  pursued  was  accordingly  adopted,  not, 
however,  without  a  careful  examination  of  principles  and  pre- 
cedents. If  you  shall  think  the  measure  as  involving  any 
excess  in  the  exertion  of  State  power,  it  would  seeia  to  be  de- 


»V\: 


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to 

to 

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the 

at- 

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•irable.nd?  to  allow  it  to  pass  without  the  expression  of  your 
dissent,  which  would  be  received,  on  my  part,  with  the  utmost 
respect  and  deference. 

"  The  Minister  Plenipotentiary  of  his  Britannic  Majesty  has 
communicated  to  Mr.  Clay,  what  are  called  by  the  former  ' 
^sufficient  proofs  of  the  decided  resolution  of  his  Majesty *s 
Lieutenant  Governor  of  New  Brunswick  to  maintain  the  dis- 
puted territory  in  the  same  state  in  which  his  Excellency  re- 
ceived it  after  the  conclusion  of  the  treaty  of  Ghent,  [t 
certainly  would  not  be  desirable  to  put  his  Majesty's  Lieuten- 
ant Governor's  decided  resolution  to  the  test  on  this  point,  but 
it  may  be  imperatively  required  to  determine  how  far  the 
treaty  of  Ghent  and  previous  actual  jurisdiction'may  sanction 
his  authoritative  approaches  beyond  the  terms  of  that  treaty, 
without  a  reasonable  expostulation,  not  however  to  be  follow^ 
«d  by  any  unnecessary  resort  to  forcible  resistance. 

'^  It  is  not  to  be  anticipated  that  the  deplorable  event  of  a 
war  with  Great  Britain  may  not  occur  again.  If  that  melan- 
choly result  of  human  frailty  shall  be  produced,  the  situation 
of  Maine  will  require  great  resolution  and  activity.  The 
concentration  of  the  British  forces  with  the  view  of  dividing 
ihe  Union,  by  an  occupation  of  New  York,  will  not  be  at- 
tempted again,  but  the  seaboard  and  the  interior  frontier  of 
Maine  will  be  the  one  a  line  of  maratime  invasion,  and  the 
other  of  excursions  and  incursions  according  to  the  emergen- 
cies relating  to  our  defence.  The  effort  wnl  be  probably  to 
■cut  off  this  State,  or  at  least  for  this  we  ought  to  foe  prepared, 
80  as  not  to  admit  any  re[)etition  here  of  such  scenes  as  occur- 
red during  the  last  war.  It  would  appear  to  be  proper 
to  solicit  of  the  general  government  the  erection  of  some 
strong  fortresses  on  our  interior  frontier.  Its  own  dispo- 
sition and  the  obvious  utility  of  works  so  situated,  in  an- 
ticipation of  others  where  the  country  is  better  guarded, 
would,  it  may  be  hoped,  assure  to  a  representation  of  this 
nature,  a  favorable  reception." 

The  Committee  aforesaid  ask  leave  to  observe,  they  are  un- 
able to  perceive,  that  there  is  any  thing  uncertain  in  our 
'  claim,  arising  out  of  any  obscurity  in  the  treaty  of  1783,  or 
«ny  of  the  documentary  evidence,  or  arguments  and  discus- 
sions which  led  to  the  description  of  the  boundary  therein 
«ontaired  ;  nor  are  they  informed  that  the  government  of 
Great  Britain,  or  any  of  their  negociatiors  ever  claimed  the 
northern  part  of  this  State  as  a  right,  but  requested  it  as  a 
cession  ;  it  is  therefore  concluded,  that  their  strong  and  per- 
severing endeavors  to  excite  doubts,  and  embarrass  the  subject, 
^re  elicited  by  the  zeal  of  their  essayists,  and  their  subordinate 


8-  .  .    .  •  ■,  > 
,  ■  '\.    / 

agents,  or  negotiatorg,  who,  while  they  recoinmcDd  themielvei 
to  the  n^uther  government,  as  zealous,  loyal  subjects,  and 
fr.ithfnl  agents,  are  dUpobed  at  the  same  time  to  gratify  other 
feelings,  arising  from  other  causes. 

This  subject  has  on  several  occasions  occupied  the  attention 
of  the  government  of  this  State,  and  has  been  the  subject  of 
reports,  and  resolves,  and  all  may  have  been  done  which  the 
state  of  knowledge  on  that  subject  rendered  proper,  or  the 
occasion  required.  The  subject  is  now,  from  a  variety  of 
considerations,  assuming  a  more  intereatinc  character.  Such 
is  the  state  of  public  inquiry,  that  it  may  oe  expected  of  this 
Legislature,  that  they  will  fairly  and  candidly  spread  the  evi- 
dence of  title,  and  the  subject  oi  controversy,  before  the  peo- 
ple, to  the  end  that  they  may  see,  examine,  and  reason  for 
themselves,  and  form  theirown  conclusions.  This,  however, 
would  be  deemed  unnecessary,  were  it  not  the  fact,  that  what 
is  said,  and  much  of  the  documentary  evidence  touching  the 
boundaries  of  the  provinces,  prior  to  the  treaty  of  1783,  is  in 
the  hands,  and  within  the  reach  of  very  few. 

With  a  view  therefore  of  spreading  the  evidence  of  our 
title  fairly  before  the  people  of  this  State,  and  by  the  same 
means,  before  the  people  of  the  United  States  and  the  world  ; 
it  is  proitosed,  to  pursue  generally  the  chronological  order  of 
events,  noticing  particularly,  such  as  have  any  direct  relation 
to  the  subject,  and  incidentally,  such  as  tend  chieifly  to  j^how 
the  coimexion  between  them. 

The  discovery  of  America  produced  an  excitenoent,  and  a 
spirit  of  maratime  enterprize  among  the  nations  of  Europe. — 
Cabot  sailed  in  1497  under  the  orders  of  Henry  VII.  of  Eng- 
land, and  discovered  Newfoundland,  and  North  America,  and 
coasted  from  Labrador  to  Florida.  The  spirit  of  discovery 
thus  early  excited  in  England,  subsided,  and  was  not  revived 
for  many  years.  The  French  prosecuted  voyages  of  discovery 
to  North  America,  and  as  early  as  163$  attempted  a  settle- 
ment on  the  St.  Lawrence.  From  this  period  the  voyages  of 
the  Europeans  to  the  Northern  parts  of  North  America,  were 
principally  confined  to  the  fisheries,  and  to  the  prosecution  of 
a  trade  in  furs,  with  the  Natives,  and  it  was  not  until  1604, 
that  any  settlement  was  commeuced  which  became  perma- 
nent. 

In  1603,  Henry  fourth  of  France,  granted  to  De  Monts,  all 

]^the  Country  in  North  America  between  the  fortieth  and  forty 

^sixth  degrees  of  North  Latitude,  by  the  name  of  Acadie.     Die 

Monts,  to  secure  to  himself  the  benefits  of  his  Qr^nt,  with 

Champlain  and  other  adventurers,  fitted  out  vessels  and  sailed 

for  America  ;  they  first  touched  on  the  eastern  coast  of  the 


v>  ^^  - 


..* 


r 


•gr^nt — then  sailed  round  Cape  Sable  to  the  bay  of  Fnndy, 
•touched  at  Port  Royal,  now  Annapolia,  at  the  St.  John,  which 
river  they  sailed  up  80ine  disitandc,  and  thence  followed  the 
■coast  to  tlie  month  of  a  river,  which-tlicy  afterwarda  called 
St.  Croix,  where  upon  a  small  island  they  erected  houses  <\nA 
defence:^,  and  established  thembelves  for  the  winter.  In  the 
«pring  they,  for  some  cause  determined  on  quitting  the  island, 
«nd  took  what  thcv  could  of  the  materials  of  the  bnildinffs, 
and  moved,  and  established  them-elven  at  Port  Royal,  where 
they  lived  and  prosecuted  the  businesii  of  their  settlement  for 
teveral  years. 

In  1607  the  British  commenced  a  settlement  in  Virfirinia, 
iivhich  became  permanent.  As  early  as  1613,  for  the  purpose 
of  getting  rid  of  their  neighbors,  who  might  at  some  future 
•period  annoy  them,  as  well  as  for  asserting  their  claim  to  the 
whole  country,  and  appropriating  it  to  themselves  or  the  Bri- 
tisli  government,  they  fitted  out  a  small  expedition  under  Sir 
Samuel  Argall  to  dislodge  the  French  in  Acadie.  Sir  Samuel 
•dislodged  the  French  at  Mount  Desert,  destroyed  all  which  De 
Mont«  had  left  on  the  Island  where  he  first  wintered,  and  cap- 
-tured  the  French  at  Port  Royal.  Some  of  the  French  went 
to  Canada,  and  some  united  with  the  natives  The  expedition 
was  attended  with  no  important  result,  further,  than  it 
probably  suggested  to  Sir  William  Alexander,  the  idea  of  ob- 
taining a  grant  of  the  Country — and  therefore  after  companies 
:had  in  England,  obtained  grants  of  various  parts  of  North 
America,  to  which  they  gave  their  favorite  names,  such  as  Vir- 
ginia and  New  England,  he  obtained  a  grant,  which,  from  its 
relative  situation  to  New  En<;land,  or  to  perpetuate  the  name 
of  his  native  country,  he  called  Nova  Scotia.* 

The  grant  was  made  in  1621  hy  James  I.  and  contained 
^*  all  the  lands  of  the  continent  from  Cape  Sable,  theaoe 
along  the  coast  of  St.  Mary's  Bay,  thence  across  the  bay  of 
Fundy  to  the  river  St.  Croix^  to  its  remotest  sprinar  head, 
thence  by  an  ivaaginary  line  northward  to  the  river  St.  Law- 
rence, thence  by  the  shores  of  the  river  to  the  havenf  or 
shore  commonly  called  Gaspe,  and  thence  southward,  &c. 
Sir  William  seems  to  have  engaged  with  some  zeal,  and  in- 
curred  great  expense  in  fitting  out  two  vessels  to  take  pos- 
session of  and  settle  his  grant  ;  but  all  his  efforts  produced 
little  or  no  effect,  and  he  abandoned  it,  and  in  1630,  sold  a 
part,  or  a;ll  of  his  grant  to  La  Tour,  a  subject  of  France.  In 
the  year  1628  or  9,  Canada  and  Acadie  were  both  captured 
hy  the  British,  and  were  restored  in  1632  by  the  treaty  of  St. 


Seo  Appendix. 


■^..-.^ 


^  " 


f 


I 


10 

Oermains.  In  1652,  the  British  fitted  out  an  expedition  and 
touk  possession  of  Penobscot,  St.  John,  Port  Koyal,  and 
several  other  places,  in  1655  a  treaty  of  commerce  was 
entered  into  between  the  French  aud  British,  and  the  questipii 
of  title  to  Acadie  was  referred  to  commissioners. 

*In  1663,  Charles  II.  granted  to  his  brother  the  Duke  of 
York,  the  country  called  the  Duke  of  York's  territory,  next 
adjoining  New  Scotland,  and  extending  from  the  river  St. 
Croix  to  Pemaquid,  and  up  the  river  thereof  to  the  furthest 
head  of  the  same  as  it  tendeth  northward  ;  and  extending 
thence  to  the  river  Kimbequin^  and  upwards  by  the  shortest 
course  to  the  river  of  Canada  northward. 

In  1667,  by  the  treaty  of  Breda,  Acadie  was  again  restored 
to  France.  In  1689,  another  war  broke  out,  and  the  follow- 
ing year  Sir  William  Phipps  conquered  Port  Royalj  and 
other  French  ports  in  Acadie. 

fOct.   7,  1691,  by   the  charter  of  William  and  Mary,  the 
real  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay  was  erected,  consisting 
of  the  former  provinces  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  New  Plymouth, 
Nova  Scotia,  District  of  Maine,  and  all  the  territory  between 
Nova  Scotia  and  the  District  of  Maine  and  the  river  Sagada- 
hock,  and  every  part  thereof,  and  the  St.  Lawrence  or  great 
river  of  Canada.     It  will  at  once  be  perceived,  that  the  pro- 
vince of  Massachusetts  Bay  was  in  the  northern  part,  bounded 
west  by  a  line  drawn  north  from  the  westernmost  head  of  the 
waters  of  the  Sagadahock,  to  the  river  St.  Lawrence,  north 
by  the  river  St.  Lawrence,  east  and  south  by  the  Atlantic 
Ocean.     The  charier  contained  a  limitation  in  the  exercise 
of  the  granting  power,  as  to  all  the  tract  of  country  lying 
beyond  tie  Sagadahock,  but  it  contained  no  other  limitations 
to  its  exercise  of  sovereign  power,  which  were  not  contained 
It.  all  other  charters  granting  powers  of  or  establishing  govern- 
ments.    Massachusetts  exercised  some   acts    of  jurisdiction 
over  Nova  Scotia,  appointed  some  civil  and  other  officers, 
bu^  it  being  so  distant,  and  she  having  so  many  other  posts,  and 
such  extent  of  otl;er  frontier  to  defend,  and  the  expense  being 
so  great,  whicli  she  must  incur  for  her  protection  against  the 
a!^^a\ilts  of  the  French  and  nativ^is,  that  she  was  not  solicitous 
to  retain  it,  and  in  the  course  of  a  few  years  gave  it  up,  ar.d 
the  British  Governntent  made  it  a  separate  province. 

In  1697,  by  the  treaty  of  Ryswick,  Acadie  was  again  resto- 
red to  tlie  French.  In  1702,  war  was  agahi  declared  between 
France  and  Great  Britain,  and  Acadie  in  the  course  of  the  war 
was  again  captured  by  the  British,  and  was,  in  1713,  by  tli« 


1  I 


*  AppeniUx  2. 


Appendix  3. 


i 


11 


treaty  of  Utrecht,  ceded  by  the  French  to  the  British  by  the 
description  of  Nova  Scotia,  otherwise  called  Acadie,  accord- 
ing to  its  ancient  limits,  with  some  reservations  of  islands, 
such  as  Cape  Breton  and  the  islands  in  the  St.  Lawrence 
which  were  not  ceded.  For  many  years  Nova  Scotia  or 
Acadie  thus  ceded,  seems  not  to  have  engaged  much  of  the 
attention  of  the  British  Government.  They  did  in  1719, 
appoint  Richard  Phillips  governor,*  who,  for  want  of  subjects, 
had  to  select  his  council  from  his  garrison.  The  French 
inhabitants  lived  in  a  state  of  independence,  without  acknow- 
ledging the  right  or  authority  of  the  British  colonial  govern- 
liient  ;  and  the  object  of  the  British  seems  to  have  been  to 
keep  possession  of  the  country,  to  the  end,  that  they  might 
hold  it,  and  extinguish  the  claim  of  France.  By  the  treaty 
of  Aix  la  Chapelle  in  1745,  commissioners  were  provided 
to  be  appointed,  to  settle  the  boundaries  of  Nova  Scotia  or 
Acadie,  as  ceded  by  the  treaty  of  Utrecht,  nbout  thj  limits 
of  which,  the  British  and  French  could  not  agrer;.  Col. 
Cornwallis  was  made  Governor  of  Nova  Scotia  or  Acadief 
in  1749,  and  came  with  soldiers  of  the  late  army  and  others, 
between  three  and  four  thousand,  and  settled  and  built  the 
town  of  Halifax. 

Commissioners  provided  to  be  appointed  by  the  treaty  of 
Aix  la  Chapelle  were  appointed  in  1750,  and  began  and 
continued  their  discussions  for  some  years,  the  British  con- 
tending for,  and  endeavoring  to  maintain  one  construction 
of  the  treaty  of  Utrecht,  and  the  French  another  construc- 
tion. The  discussions  were  broken  off  by  the  war  of  1756. 
The  treaty  of  Paris,  of  February  10,  1763,  which  terminated 
the  war  of  1756,  ceded  both  Canada  and  Nova  Scotia  to  the 
British  in  full  sovereignty.  At  this  time  the  power  of  the 
French  became  extinct,  and  they  never  made  any  subsequent 
effort  to  regain  it  Until  this  period,  although  with  the 
British,  Nova  Scotia  had  been  the  subject  of  grants,  of  con- 
quests, and  cessions,  they  always  recognised  the  St.  Lawrence 
as  its  northern  boundary,  never  extending  their  claim  beyond, 
or  stopping  short  of  it.  When  Canada  became  a  territory  of 
Great  Britain,  it  became  necessary  for  her  to  establish  a 
government  for  it,  and  the  King,  for  that  purpose,  by  his 
Proclamation  of  the  7th  of  October,  1763,  among  other  go- 
vernments, established  the  government  of  Quebec!  bounded  as 
follows  :  "  on  the  Labrador  coast  by  the  river  St.  John,  and 
from  thence,  by  a  line  drawn  from  the  head  of  that  river, 
through  the  lake  St.  John,  to  the  south  end  of  Lake  Nipissim, 
from  whence  the  said  line,  crossing  the  river  St.  Lawrence, 


*  Appendix  4. 


t  App«ndiz  6. 


I  Appendix  6. 


1^ 

9  • 

il^df  tlie  lake  Champlain,  in  45  degrees  of  north  latitude,  pmtts. 

tiU,ng  ihe  iiigh  iunas  which  divide  the  rivers  that  empty  themselves 
into  ihe  nmd. river  1st.  Lawrence  jrom  tlwse  which  Jail  imto  the  sea^. 
and  aUo  along  the  north  coast  of  the  bay  des  Chaleurs,  and  t\\& 
coast  ol  the  gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  to  Cape  Rosiers,  and  from 
thence  crossing  the  mouth  ol  the  river  St  Lawrence,  by  the 
west  end  ol  the  island  Anticosti,  terminates  at  the  aforesaid 
river  St.  John." 

From  this  descriptic*  it  is  evident,  that  it  was  the  intention 
of  the  crown,  in  establishing  the  Province  of  Quebec,  to  em^ 
brace  within  its  territory)  after  passing  Lake  Champlain,  the 
sources  of  all  the  streams  which  flowed  into  the  St  Law- 
rence, and  for  that  purpose,  the  most  lit  and  appropriate 
words  are  adopted.  It  cannot  be  supposed  that  it  was  intended 
by  this  deifcription,  that  the  line,  as  it  run  east  .vard  from  lake 
Chaw])k:n,  was  to  pursue  a  ranpe  of  mountains,  or  to  run 
from  peak  to  peak  of  the  highest  mountains,  between  the 
river  ot.  Lawrence  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  Atlantic  Ocean 
on  the  other  The  line  wa^  the  high  lands.  What  high  lands  ? 
The  high  lands  which  divide  the  waters  ;  any  land  therefore 
of  any  elevation,  whether  plains  or  mountains,  hills  or  dales, 
which  are  at  the  sources  of  the  respective  rivers,  flowing: 
into  the  St.  Lawrence  and  the  sea,  are  the  high  lands  by 
the  proclautation  intended,  and  the  most  apt  words  are  used  to^ 
describe  them.  This  line  leaves  all  the  waters  of  the  Con- 
necticut, Androscoggin,  Kennebec,  Penobscot,  St.  John  and 
Rii>tierouche,  falling  into  the  i^ea  on  one  hand,  and  thestreanur 
flowing  into  the  lake  Memphremagog.  and  through  it  into  the 
river  St.  Lawicnce,  the  Chaudierre,  the  Quelle,  Green^ 
Metis,  and  many  othei'  rivers  falling  into  the  river  St.  Law- 
rence on  the  other.  The  line,  it  will  be  observed,  pursues 
the  northern  coast  of  the  bay  of  Chaleurs,  and  not  the  middle 
of  the  bay  ;  there  cannot  be  any  pretence  therefore,  that  the 
river  Ristigouche  was  within  the  meaning  of  this  proclama- 
tion, a  rrv«r  flowing  into  the  St.  Lawrence,  but,  on  the 
contrary,  it  is  clearly  a  river  foiling  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean. 

Prior  to  this  proclamation,  the  provinces  of  Massachusetts 
Bay  and  Nova  Scotia  were  bounded  north  by  the  river  St. 
Law rence  ;  the  proclamation  varied  the  boundary  by  trans- 
feiring  it,  from  the  shores  of  the  river  St  Lawrence,  to  the 
sources  of  the  rivers  which  emptied  themf^eives  into  it  ;  and 
the  afore^aid  provinces  were  then  bounded  north  by  the  same 
line,  to  wit,  the  range  of  land,  he  what  it  might,  high  or  low, 
in  which  the  rivers  respectively  had  their  sources,  leaving 
the  rivers  St.  John  and  Resti^ouche  partly  in  the  province 


Appendix  6. 


i.        8«! 


■  ''.  -■  *  \*')\ 


15 


'tiff 


i 


of  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  partly  in  the  province 'of  Novai 
Scotia,  the  sources  being  in  the  former,  and  the  mouths  in  the 
latter  province.  This  line  has  not  since  been  altered,  except 
between  lake  Champlain  and  Connecticut  river,  ^here,  in- 
stead of  pursuing  the  high  lands,  it  v/as  fixed  to  the  parallel 
of  forty  live  degrees  north  latitude. 

*  The  line  thus  established  by  proclamation,  has  often  since: 
by  the  acts  of  the  Crovi;n  and  Parliament  of  Great  Britain, 
been  recognized.  October,  1763,  in  the  commission  to  Mon-- 
tague  Wilmot,  revoking  the  commission  to  a  former  gover- 
nor, and  constituting  him  to  be  Captain  (xeneral  and  Com- 
mander in  Chief  of  the  Province  of  Nova  Scotia,  is  the 
following  description  of  boundary  :  "  Bounded  on  the  west- 
ward by  a  line  drawn  from  Cape  Sable  across  the  entrance 
of  the  bay  of  Fundy,  to  the  motUh  of  the  river  St.  Croixy  by  the 
said  river  to  its  source^  and  by  a  line  draton  north  from  thence  to  the 
souther^x  boundary  of  our  Colony  oj  Quebec  ;  to  the  northward 
by  the  said  boundary^  as  Jar  as  the  western  extremity  of  the  bay  de» 
Chaleursy  ^e." 

f  In  the  commission  to  William  Campbell,  in  17^7,  there 
is  the  same  descaiption  of  boundaries  of  the  Province  of  Nova 
Scotia,  and  tfie  same  are  again  repeated  in  the  commission  to 
Francis  Legge  in  1771.  The  proclamation  of  1763  was- 
farther  recognized  and  confirmed  by  the  act  of  Parliament 
of  the  14th  of  George  III.  by  which  it  is  enacted,  '■'■  that  all 
the  territories,  islands,  and  countries  in  North  America^ 
belonging  to  the  crown  of  Great  Britain,  hounded  on  the 
south,  by  a  line  from  the  bay  of  Chaleurs,  along  the  highland* 
which  divide  the  rivers  that  empty  themselves  into  the  St- 
Lawrence,  from  those  whiqh  fall  into  the  sea,  to  a  point  in 
forty-five  degrees  of  northern  latitude,  on  the  eastern  bank 
of  Connecticut  river."!  The  limits  of  the  several  province* 
were  the  same  at  the  time  of  concluding  the  treaty  of  1783. 

The  question  may  well  be  asked,  where  was  the  northwest 
angle  of  Nova  Scotia,  and  the  northeast  ar^k  of  the  province 
of  Massachusetts  Bay,  before  the  treaty  ?  Had  Nova  Scotia 
two  northwest  angles  ?  It  has  already  been  shown  by  the 
charter  to  Sir  William  Alexander,  that  the  northwest  angle 
of  his  grant  was  on  the  shore  of  the  river  St.  Lawrence,  and 
although  by  the  charter  of  William  and  Mary,  in  1691,  it 
became  a  part  of  the  province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  when 
it  was  afterwards  separated  from  it,  its  boundaries  were  the 
same  as  before,  and  its  northwest  ansle  still  on  the  shores 
of  the  St.  Lawrence.  Here  the  angle  remained  fixed  and 
stationary  until  1763,  when  the  boundaries  were  transferred 


i  i 


Appendix  7.      t  Appendix  8.      t  Appendix  9. 


rl.,',', 


,• 


I'M 


I  i 


from  the  shore  to  the  land  from  which  the  streams  falling 
into  the  river  St.  Lawrence  flowed  and  had  their  source. 
Nova  Scotia  had  therefore  but  one  northwest  angle.  Here 
the  line  became  fixed  and  permanent,  and  on  this  line,  and 
to  the  northward  of  the  heads  of  all  the  streams  which  did 
not  flow  into  the  river  St.  Lawrence,  was  the  northwest 
angle  of  Nova  Scotia.* 

When  the  boundaries  between  the  provinces  of  Quebec 
and  Massachusetts  Bay,  were  thus  clearly  defined  and  limited 
to^that  range  of  land,  in  which  the  streams  falling  into  the 
St.  Lawrence  at  the  northward,  and  the  St.  John  at  the 
southward,  and  continued  easterly  to  the  head  of  the  bay  of 
Chaleurs,.  and  southwestwardly  to  the  head  of  Connecticut 
river  ;  and  when  the  boundary  between  the  provinces  of 
Nova  Scotia  and  Massachusetts  Bay  were  thus  clearly  defined 
and  limited  to  the  river  St.  Croix,  and  a  line  drawn  north 
from  it  to  the  aforesaid  range  of  land,  the  boundary  of  the 
government  of  Quebec  ;  the  repeated  acts  of  arbitrary  power 
exercised  by  Great  Britain  towards  the  provinces  comprising 
the  thirteen  United  States,  caused  them  to  assert  their  rights  ; 
they  maintained  them  successfully  ;  and  to  terminate  the 
unprofitable  struggle.  Great  Britain  acknowledged  their 
existence  as  an  independent  nation.  When  their  existence  ai 
an  independent  nation  was  thus  secured,  it  became  necessary 
for  the  two  nations,  to  prevent  new  and  unprofitable  contests, 
to  fix  and  establish  boundaries  between  themselves.  This  was 
first  done  in  the  provisional  articl''  of  peace  concluded  at 
Paris,  November  30,  1782,  and  by  the  provisions  of  that 
instrument,  were  incorporated  into,  and  became  a  part  of  the 
definitive  treaty  of  Peace  concluded  at  Paris,  September  3d, 
1783. 

The  acknowledgement  of  independence,  and  the  boundaries 
established,  are  described  as  follows,  to  wit  : — 

"  Article  Ist.  His  Britannic  Majesty  acknowledges  the 
said  United  States,  to  wit.  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts, 
Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Plantations,  Connecticut,  New 
York,  New  Jersey ,  Peimsylvania,  Delaware,  Maryland,  Vir- 
ginia, North  Carolina,  South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  to  be 
free,  sovereign  and  independent  States  ;  and  that  he  treats 
with  them  as  such  ;  and  for  himself,  his  heirs  and  successors, 
relinquishes  all  claims  to  the  government,  propriety,  and 
territorial  rights  of  the  same  and  every  part  thereof.  And 
that  all  disputes  which  might  arise  in  future  on  the  subject 
of  the  boundaries  of  the  said  United  States  may  be  prevented, 
it  is  hereby  agreed  and  declared  that  the  following  are  and 
shall  be  their  boundaries,  to  wit  : 


•^ 


't.A  "*% 


"  Article  2.  From  the  northwest  angle  of  ^ova  Scotia,  to  wit, 
that  article  which  ie  formed  by  a  line  drawn  due  north  from  the 
source  of  the  St.  Croix  river  to  the  highlands,  alor^  the  said  high- 
l^'nds  which  divide  those  rivers  that  empty  themselves  into  the  St. 
iMwrente  from  those  which  fall  into  the  Mantic    Ocean,  to  the 
'iA)rthu)e8ternmost  head  of  Connecticut  river,  then:ce  down  along 
the  middle  of  that  river  to  the  forty-fifth  degree  of  north  lati- 
tude ;  from  thence  by  a  line  due  west  on  said  latitude  until 
it  strikes  the  river  Iroquois  or  Cataragny  ;  thence  along  the 
middle  of  said  river  into  Lake  Ontario,  through   the  middle 
of  said  lake,  until  it  strikes  the   communication  by  water 
between  that  lake   and  lake  Erie  ;  thence  along  the  middle 
of  said  communication  into  lake  Erie,  through  the  middle 
of  said  lake,  until  it   arrives  at  the  water   communication 
between  that  lake  and  Huron  ;  thence  along  the  middle  of 
said  water  communication  between  that  lake  and  lake  Supe- 
rior ;  thence  through  lake  Superior,  northward  of  the  isles 
Royal  and  Philipeaux,  to  the  long  lake  ;  thence  through  the 
middle  of  said  long  lake,  and  the  communication  between  it 
and  the  lake  of  the  Woods,  to  the  said  lake  of  the  Woods  ; 
thence  through  said   lake  to  the    most    northwestern  point 
thereof  ;  and  from  thence  on  a  due  west  course  to  the  river 
Mississippi  ;  thence  by  a  line  to  be  drawn  along  the  middle 
of  the  said  river  Mississippi,  until  it  shall  intersect  the  north- 
ern most  part  of  the  tnirty-first   degree  of  north  latitude. 
South,  by  a  line  to  be  drawn  due  east  from  the  termination  of 
the  line  last  mentioned,  in  the  latitude  of  thirty-one  decrees 
north  of  the  equator,  to  the  middle  of  the  river  Apalachicola 
or  Catahouche  ;  thence  along  the  middle  thereof  to  its  junc- 
tion with  the  Flint  river  ;  thence  straight  to  the  head  of  St? 
Mary's  river  ;  thence  down  along  the  middle  of  St.  Mary's 
river  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean.     East.,  hy  a  line  to  be  drawn  along 
the  middle  of  the  riner  St.  Croix,  from  its  mouth  in  the  bay  o^  Fundy 
to  its  source^  and  from  its  source  directly  north,  to  the  aforesaid 
high  lands,  which  divide  the  rivers  that  fall  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean 
from  those  which  fall  into  i he  river  St.  Lawrence,  comprehending 
all  islands  within  twenty  lea^ttes  of  any  part  of  the  shores  of 
the  United  States,  and  lying  between  tlie  lines  to  be  drawn  due 
east  from  the  points  where  the  afore^^id  boundaries  between 
Nova  Scotia  on  the  one  part,  and  East  Florida  on  the  other,8hall 
respectively  touch  the  bay  of  Fundy,  and  *he  Atlantic  Ocean, 
excepting  such  islands  as  now  are,  or  heretofore  have  been 
within  the  limits  of  the  said  province  of  Nova  Scotia." 

The  first  article  describes  by  name,  the  several  States 
composing  the  United  States,  and  had  the  treaty  stopped  here 
without  describing  their  boundaries  more  minutely,  there 
iiQuld  have  been  no  doubt  but  that  all  the  territory  embraced 


I.  fl 


^vithin  the  charter  limits,  or  within  the  jurisdiction  of  Mas>- 
■sachu$;ett8  Bay,  passed  by  that  description.  Here  from  the 
use  of  the  term  Massachusetts,  was  an  evident  intention  to 
conform  to  the  lines  as  they  existed  before  the  treaty,  which 
have  been  already  shown,  from  the  documents  herem  before 
cited,  which  are  of  that  clear  and  explicit  character  which 
relieves  the  subject  from  all  uncertainty  and  doubt. 

But  when  the  subject  is  still  farther  pursued  and  the  boun- 
daries are  more  minutely  described,  what  was  clear  before,  is 
still  made  more  clear  and  explicit.  To  be  more  particular — 
The  northwest  angle  of  Nova  Scotia,  after  it  is  ascertained  by 
the  rule  given  in  the  treaty,  is  the  point  from  which  the  nor- 
thern line  starts.  '^  From  the  northwest  angle  of  Nova  Scotia, 
to  wit — that  angle  which  is  formed  by  a  line  draWn  due  north 
from  the  source  of  the  river  St.  Croix  to  the  high  lands."-— 
Here  we  may  ask  wbat  anele  was  intended  ?  Was  it  an  angle 
to  be  formed  on  the  side  line  of  the  province,  one  hundred  or 
more  miles  from  the  real  and  true  northwest  angle  of  Nova 
Scotia  ?  or  was  the  real  and  true  angle  of  the  province,  at  the 
.point  where  its  western  line  intersected  the  line  of  the  prov- 
ince of  Quebec  ?  The  true  construction  is  too  obvious  to  ad- 
mit a  doubt.  It  is  perfectly  clear  from  the  plain  and  most  nat- 
ural and  obvious  construction  of  the  language  used,  that  by  the 
northwest  angle  of  Nova  Scotia  was  truly  intended  the  north- 
western extremity  of  that  province.  ^ 

The  description  then  proceeds  <^  along  the  said  highlands 
which  divide  those  rivers  that  empty  into  the  river  St.  Law- 
rence from  those  which  fall  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean."  The 
•idea  that  the  words  of  the  treaty  require  a  range  of  mountains 
to  form  the  Une,  is  totally  false  and  absurd  If  the  commi8sion>- 
ers  intended  to  describe  a  line  pursuing  the  highest  range  of 
mountains  I  etween  the  Atlantic  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  rivef 
St  Lawrence  on  the  other,  they  would  have  used  the  terms 
fittest  for  such  description,  and  not  have  used  the  words  which 
plainly  and  distinctly  were  intended  to  embrace  wny  height  of 
land,  from  the  lowest  to  any  other  elevation,  provided  it  did 
divide  the  waters  falling  into  the  river  St.  Lawrence,  from 
those  falling  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  If  mquntains  were 
foundthere,  they  were  intended,  if 'there  were  no  mountains 
or  hills,  and  the  lands  only  ascended  gently  from  the  river  St. 
Lawrence,  and  again  descended  towards  the  main  streams  fa  lin- 
ing into  the  Atlantic,  constituting  in  fact  a  long  and  extended 
plain,  from  the  highest  parts  of  which  the  streams  run  north- 
vardly  and  westwardly  into  the  river  St.  Lawrence,  and 
southerly  and  easterly  into  the  Atlantic — such  a  plain  is  the 
highland  truly  intended  by  the  treaty,  and  the  line  U  on  that 
part  of  the  plain  from  which  the  waters  flow  in  different  di- 


17 


It  di- 


rections— If  the  lands  are  only  high  enough  for  the  water  sim- 
ply to  paKS  off  in  different  directions,  as  completely  and  ex- 
actly correi^ponds  with  the  description  in  the  treaty,  and  are 
the  highlands  truly  and  eminently  intended  by  it. 

The  treaty  describes  but  two  classes  of  rivers,  as  hav- 
ing any  connexion  with  this  part  of  the  boundaries  of  the  Uni- 
ted States,  to  wit — such  as  flow  into  the  river  St.  Lawreiu-.e 
and  those  which  fall  into  the  Atlantic.  Although  t!  3  river 
St.  Lawrence  itself  falls  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  it  is  alluded 
to  in  a  peculiar  manner,  to  distinguish  it  from  all  other  tivers, 
and  to  place  it  and  its  tributary  streams  in  ooposition  to  theniy 
whether  they  flowed  into  Long  Island  Sounur,  Kennebec  bay, 
Penobscot  bay,  the  great  Massachusetts  bay,  the  Bay  of  Fuu- 
dy,  or  the  Bay  of  Chaleur — or  into  any  other  part  of  the  At- 
lantic Ocean.  The  language  of  the  treaty  being  thus  clear 
and  explicit,  it  leaves  no  doubt  on  the  mind,  that  the  hiij^hlaiids 
of  the  treaty  which  divide  the  waters,  was  inle:tded  that 
range  of  lands,  whether  high  or  low,  in  which  the  tributaries 
of  the  St.  Lawrence  have  their  sources  and  from  which  they 
flow.  To  search,  therefore,  for  mountain  ranges,  or  for  the 
greatest  height  of  land,  between  the  river  St.  Lawrence  and 
the  Atlantic  Ocean,  to  fulfil  the  terms  of  the  treaty,  is  absurd 
and  preposterous.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  article  quoted,  in 
describing  the  east  boundary,  the  descriptive  language  of  the 
first  part  of  the  article  is  nearly  repeated  "  East  bv  a  line 
to  be  drawn  along  the  middle  ot  the  river  S'.  Croix,  from  its 
mouth  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy  to  its  source,  and  from  its  source 
directly  north  to  the  aforesaid  hio^hlands  which  divide  the  riv- 
ers which  fall  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean  from  those  which  fall 
into  the  river  St.  Lawrer>ce."  ' 

Although,  from  the  French  having  erected  their  crosses  at 
the  mouths  of  various  rivers,  and  having  at  various  time;  'iiv- 
en  them  names  from  that  circumstance,  and  the  part  of  the 
country  between  the  rivers  St.  John  and  Penobscot  not  havinsr 
been  early  settled, and  seldom  visitedexcept  for  the  purpose  of 
traffic  with  the  natives,doubts  reasonablv  inijfht  ari«e  as  to  the 
true  river  St.  Croix,  still,  when  those  dou'bt^  were  re»noved, 
and  the  river  clearly  ascertained,  a  certain  point  wa^  fixed, 
from  which  the  due  North  liof^  was  to  start  and  notln'njr  re- 
mained but  to  employ  artists  to  survey  the  line  and  erect  its 
monuments.  This  seems  to  have  been  a  point  conceded  in  tbe 
treaty  of  amity,  commerce  and  navio-atjon,  concluded  nt  Ton- 
don,  Nov.  19,  1794,  and  in  all  the  discussions  under  the  fifth 
article  thereof. 

Upon  the  clear  and  explicit  lanffuafre  of  the  treaty  it'^elf, 
before  any  intelligent  and  impartial  tribunal,  the  question 


it 


IIP 


»*«■ 


;■>' 


'i1 


■1/ 


I  i 


'  .18  .    ' 

of  boundary  and  jurisdiction  might  be  safely  placed,   with   a 
perfect  confidence  in  the  issue.     But  the  treaty,  though  defi- 
nite in  itti  descriptions,  and  requiring  no  foreign  aid  in  its  in- 
terpretation, only  adopted  the  bouhdaries  of  provinces  which 
had  been  defined,  established  and  recognised  by  the  crown  and 
government  of  Great  Britain,  in  their  diliierent  acts  from  1621 
to  1775,  which  will  appear  by  a  recurrence  to  the  descriptive 
language  contained  in  the  patents,   charters,  proclamations, 
and  acts  of  parliament,  before  quoted,  and  nearly  in  the  same 
language.  There  can  therefore,  be  no  doubt,  that  the  ministers 
of  both  governnynts,  intended  to  adopt,  and  did  adopt  in   the 
treaty  of  peace,  as  the  boundary  of  the   United   States,   the 
boundaries  between  the  provinces  of  Quebec  and  Nova  Scotia 
t»n  the  one  part,  and  Massachusetts  on  the  other  part,  which 
had  been  established  by,  and  had   long  been  familiar  to  the 
government  of  Great  Bi  <tain.     This  construction,  if  any  fur- 
ther support  were  necessary,  is  amply  and  fully  supported  by 
the  discussions,  which  led  to,  and  the  manner  in  which  the 
boundaries  were  concluded  by  the   ministers  who  negotiated 
the  provisonal  treaty  of  peace.    The  negotiation  was  carried 
in  form,  with  Mr.  Oswald,  who  advised  with  Mr.  Fitzherbert 
the  minister  to  the  court  of    Versailles,  but  in  fact  with  the 
British  Cabinet.     Mr.  Oswald  did  little  or  nothing  more,  not 
having  authority,  than  to  make  such  propositions  as  the  Brit- 
ish Cabinet  from  time  to  time,   according  to  circumstances, 
commanded,  and  receive  such  as  our  ministers   made,  until 
near  the  close  of  the  discussion,  when  he  was  clothed  with 
full  powers. 

A  provision  in  favor  of  the  loyalists,  was  long  and  ardently 
urged  by  the  British,  and  as  ardently  resisted  by  our  ministers 
— the  right  to  the  fisheries  was  urged  and  insisted  oh  by  our 
ministers,  and  made  a  Sine  qua  non  by  a  part,  and  resisted  b  y 
the  British,  but  finally  adopted,  both  of  which  topics  occupi- 
ed much  time.  The  fixing  and  defining  the  boundaries  of  the 
Ur^ted  States  also  occupied  much  time,  and  no  part  or  portion 
of  it  was  so  diligently  examined  and  discussed,  as  the  eastern 
and  northern  boundaries  of  the  present  State  of  Maine.  \  The 
British  in  the  first  place  insisted  upon  Piscataqua  river  as  the 
eastern  limit  of  the  United  States,  then  retreated  to  the  Ken- 
nebec, and  as  a  last  resort  wonld  consent  to  go  as  far  as  the 
Penobscot.  During  this,  as  during  the  other  parts  of  the  dis- 
•  cu8<»ion,  rriessengers  were  continually  crossing  and  recrossing 
the  channel  ;  among  the  me^^sengers  and  aids  to  th^  British, 
the  ancient  clerk  of  the  board  of  trade  and  plantations  appear- 
ed with  volumes  of  records  from  that  department,from  which 
he  read  whatever  there  was  which  tended  to  show,  the  Dis- 
trict of  Maine  or  any  part  of  itjWas  not  before  tliat  time  wUh- 


..ii.w... 


19 


in  the  jurisdiction  of  Massachusetts  bay.  The  American 
ministers  in  their  turn  produced  sundry  acts  of  the  colonial 
goveriiuient  of  Massachusetts  bay,  shewing  the  jurisdiction 
iivhich  had  been  exercised  by  her,  the  report  of  the  attorney 
and  solicitor  generals  who  had  upon  the  matter  being  referred 
to  them,  decided  upon  the  sundry  petitions,  applications,  and 
claims  made  for  all  the  country  between  the  Sagadahoc,  (Ken- 
nebec,) and  St  Croix,  and  their  decision,  after  examining  all 
the  evidence  was  against  them,  and  in  favor  of  the  jurisdiction 
of  Massachusetts  bay.  Also  Governor  Hutchinson's  report 
wherein  the  right  of  Massachusetts  bay  is  discussed, and  a  vol- 
ume of  the  doings  of  the  Commissioners  at  Paris. 
,f.  When  the  British  insisted  upon  limiting  Ale  United  State» 
to  the  Piscataqua,  the  Kennebec,  or  the  Penobscot,  the  minis- 
ters of  the  United  States,  or  some  of  them  insisted  upon  going 
to  the  St.  John,  but  finally  agreed  to  adhere  to  the  charter  of 
Massachusetts  bay.  That  they  did  do  that,  most  manifestly 
appears  from  a  comparison  of  the  treaty  with  the  patents, 
charters,  proclamations  and  acts  of  parliament  herein  before 
quoted. 

That  it  was  the  intention  of  the  commissioners  to  adopt  the 
boundaries  between  the  provinces  of  Quebec  and  Nova  Scotia 
on  the  one  part,  and  Massachusetts  bay  on  the  other  part,  was 
expressly  conceded  and  admitted  on  the  part  of  the  British  in 
the  discussions  under  the  fifth  artiqle  oi  the  treaty  of  1794. 
It  even,  if  possible,  was  more  than  admitted,  it  is  one  if  not  the 
chief  basis  of  the  whole  argument,  and  vras  enforced  with 
great  ability. 

The  British  agent  in  his  memorial  of  claim  says,  '■'■  by  the 
said  2d  article  herein  before  cited,  of  the  treaty  of  peace,  it 
appears  to  be  clearly  intended,  that  no  part  of  the  province  of 
Nova  Scotia  ishould  be  thereby  ^eded  by  his  said  Majesty  to 
the  said  United  States.  But  that  the  same  province  of  Nova 
Scotia,  according  to  its  ancient  and  former  limits,  should  be 
and  remain  a  part  of  the  territory  of  his  said  Majesty,  as  his 
said  Majesty  then  and  before  that  time  had  held  and  possessed 
the  same."  Again  in  his  argument  he  says,  ^Ho  facilitate  the 
investigation  of  the  present  question  there  appears  to  be  one 
leading  principle  that  appears  to  be  explicitly  established  by 
the  very  terms  of  the  treaty  of  peace,  and  which  might  in- 
deed be  fairly  considered  as  an  axiom  in  the  present  discussion, 
to  wit — That  it  was  clei^rly  intended  by  the  second  article  of  the 
treaty  that  no  part  of  the  province  of  J^ova  Scotia  should  be  thereby 
ceded  bv  his  Majesty  to  the  United  States.  The  words  made  use 
of  in  that  article  will  not  admit  of  a  different  construction, 
the  United  States  being  expressly  bounded  east  by  the  eastern 


il'  '^ 


m 


Hi^ .'! 


boundaries  of  the  province  of  Nova  Scotia.  The  description 
of  the  treaty  in  thiu  part  of  the  boundaries  of  the  United 
Statet)  is  as  follows  :  From  the  northwest  angle  of  Nova  Sco- 
tia, to  witj  that  angle  which  is  formed  by  a  line  drawn  due 
north  from  the  source  of  the  St.  Croix,  to  the  highlands  which 
divide  those  rivers  that  empty  themt^elves  into  the  St.  Law-. 
rence  from  those  which  fail  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean."  Now 
if  the  northwest  angle  of  Nova  Scotia,  agreeable  to  these  clear 
and  express  words  of  the  treaty,  is  formed  by  such  a  north 
line  from  the  source  of  the  St.  Croix  to  the  highlands,  that 
north  line  and  those  highlands  must  be  the  western  and  north- 
ern boundary  of  Nova  Scotia." 

And  the  British  agent   in  pursuing  his  argument  further, 
says,  that  by  the  treaty  of  1'763,  '^  all  the  French  pos-sessions 
upon  the  continent  of  North  America  were  ceded  to  Great 
Britain;  the  province  of  Quebec  was  created  and  established 
by  the  royal  proclamation  of  the  7th  of  October  of  that  year, 
bounded  on  the  south  by  the  highlands  which  divide  the  rivers 
that  empty  themselves  into  the  river  St.  Lawrence  from  tlK)se 
which  fall  into  the  Sea  orJltlantic  Ocemij  thereby  altering  the 
northern  boundary  of  the  province  of  Nova  Scotia  from  the 
southern  shores  of  the  river  St.  Lawrence  to  those  highlands, 
there  being  no  longer  any  apprehension  of  disturbance  from 
the  French,  it  now  became  necessary  for  the  settlement;of  the 
country  that  had  been  in  dispute  between  the  two  nations  to 
ai'certain  the  boundary  line  between  the  provinces  of  Nova 
Scotia  and  Masfachutetts  Bay." 

Having  quoted  in  the  preceding  pages  the  main  documents 
on  w  hich  our  title  rests,  there  will  not,  in  the  sequel,  be  a  ne- 
cessity for  any  thing  more  than  general  allusions  By  a  re- 
currence to  the  history  of  that  time,  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
treaty  was  opposed  m  the  'fii  itish  parliament,  but  it  was 
oppos^ed  by  those  who  had  lately  been  in  power,  and  op- 
position to  the  ministry  seems  to  have  constituted  the  lead- 
ing objection;  so  far  as  the  treaty  with  the  United  States 
cii  me  in  question  the  objections  raided  were  on  account  of  there 
being  no  provision  in  iavor  of  the  loyalists,  and  the  right  to 
the  fisheries  being  secured  to  the  United  States,  but  there  was 
no  objection  to  it  on  account  of  the  boundaries  therein  pre- 
scribed. If  the  boundaries  had  not  been  such  as  were  well 
known  and,  familiar  from  their  own  records,  the  variance 
would  have  produced  scrutiny,  and  if  any  objection  could 
have  been  raised  against  it  on  that  account,  it  would  have 
been  brought  forward  to  increase  and  enforce  their  other  ob- 
jections. 

When  the  river  St.  Croix  had  been  consecrated  by  De 
Monts  in  1604,  and  by  its  being  the  first  resting  place  of  Eu- 


>  fr-itJtM^A'J  J  Mf.  fIftLf 


JIUtLltUlU 


I 


21  : 

ropeanti,  who  became  permanent  settlers  in  the  northern  parts 
of  North  America;  and  when,  from  that  circumstance,  and 
from  the  expedition  of  Sir  Samuel  Argall,  its  name  found  its 
way  across  the  Atlantic,  yet  from  the  im]>erfect  geographical 
knowledge  at  that  time,  the  position  of  it  could  not  have  been 
known  to  the  Europeans,  and  when,  in  the  prosecution  of  the 
settlement  of  the  country,  other  placeii  became  more  alluring, 
and  the  river  St.  Croix  and  the  country  on  its  borders  did  not 
become  the  scite  «tt  any  ^^ettleaietit  or  military  post,  and  the 
natives  were  there'  left  to  pursue  their  iiiiherieB  and  the  chase 
without  molestation,  and  when,  also,  many  other  rivers  on  the 
coa^t  were  afterwards  designated  by  the  same  name,  and  when 
all  the  maps'  prior  to  the  American  Revolution  were  imperfect, 
it  is  not  wonderful  that  doubts,  aud  serious  doubts  arose  as  to 
which  river  was  intended  as  the  boundary  between  the  province 
of  Massachusetts  bay  and  the  province  of  Nova  Scotia.  Hence, 
as  the  river  St.  Croix  was  a  part  of  the  boundary  between  the 
provinces,  when  the  settlements  on  the  coast  be*;an  to  ap- 
proach each  other,  it  became  necessary  to  ascertain  the  river 
truly  intended,  to  prevent  collision  and  the  conflict  of  juris- 
diction. 

Before  the  American  Revolution,  and  as  early  as  the  year 
1764,  it  had  become  the  object  of  the  serious  research  and  in- 
vestigation of  the  respective  provinces.  From  the  researches 
of  the  agents  of  the  province  of  Massachusetts  bay,  made  on 
the  spot,  from  the  concurrent  information  of  all  the  natives, 
and  from  all  the  maps  in  their  possession,  they  were  con- 
vinced that  the  river  Magaguadavic  was  the  river  St.  Croix, 
such  was  the  tradition,  and  such  was  the  conclusion. 

It  generally  was  considered  and  believed  in  the  province  of 
Massachusetts  bay,that  it  was  bounded  east  by  the  river  Maga- 
guadavic and  by  a  line  drawn  due  north  from  its  source  to  the 
highlands  which  divide  the  rivers  that  empty  themselves  into 
the  St.  Lawrence  from  those  which  fall  into  the  sea,  or  in 
other  words,  by  a  line  drawn  due  north  from  the  source  of  the 
said  Magaguadavic  river  to  the  southern  line  of  the  prdvince 
of  Quebec,  which  had,  by  proclamation,,  been  created  the 

E receding  year.  The  province  of  Nova  Scotia  on  the  other 
and,  believed,  that  the  province  extended  westward  to  the 
river  Schoodic,  and  was  bounded  west  by  the  east  line  of  the 
province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  north  by  the  aforesaid 
south  line  of  the  province  of  Quebec.  Impressed  with  such 
a  belief,  the  Governor  of  Nova  Scotia,  as  the  settlements 
extended  westward,  and  individuals  wished  for  grants  of  land 
made  them,  and  from  the  year  1765  tq  1774,  made  sundry 
grants  of  land,  lying  between  the  Magaguadavic  and  the 
Schoodic  Rivers. 


i2 

Such  were  the  different  opinions  entertained  at  the  com* 
menceinent  of  the  revolution,  and  such  they  continued  to  be, 
when  the  provi&ionai  treaty  and  the  treaty  of  peace  were 
concluded.  W'len  the  provinces  were  cut  asunder,  and 
ceased  to  be  unc^er  the  control  of  the  same  general  sove- 
reignty, and  after  the  close  of  the  war,  the  loyalists  settled 
on  the  eastern  banks  of  the  Schoodic,  and  extended  their  set- 
tlejnents  between  that,  and  the  Magaguadavic  rivers,  under 
the  grants  of  the  province  of  Nova  Scotiatia'  the  crown  ;  the 
attention  of  Massachusetts  was  aroused,  and  called  distinctly 
to  the  subject,  and  the  government,  July  7,  1784,  passed 
a  *^  Resolve  for  appointing  Agents  to  the  eastern  part  of  this 
State,  to  inform  themselves  of  encroachments  made  by  the 
Britihh  subjects  ;  and  instructing  them  how  to  proceed.  The 
Agents  were  appointed,  repaired  to  the  place  where  the  dis- 
pute existed,  viewed  the  rivers,  and  made  all  such  other 
enquiries  as  were  within  their  power,  and  became  convinced 
that  the  river  Mag  aguadavic  was  the  river  St.  Croix,  of  the 
treaty  of  1783.  In  answer  to  enquiries  made  bv  the  i<ieuten> 
ant  Governor  of  Massachusetts,  dated  Autevil,  near  Paris, 
October  25,  1784,  the  late  John  Adains,  one  of  the  negotiators 
of  the  provisional,  and  the  treaty  of  peace,  says  *''■  We  had 
^  before  us,  through  the  whole  negotiation,  a  variety  of  mapn, 
but  it  was  Mitchell's  map  upon  which  was  marked  out  the 
whole  boundary  line  of  the  United  States  ;  and  the  river  St. 
Croix,  which  was  fixed  on  was,  upon  that  map,  the  nearest  to 
the  St.  Johns,  so  that  in  all  equity,  good  conscience  and  honor, 
the  river  next  to  the  St.  John's,  should  be  the  boundary.  I 
am  glad  the  General  Court  are  taking  early  measures  and 
hope  they  will  pursue  them  steadily  until  the  point  is  settled, 
which  it  may  be  now  amicably  ;  if  neglected  long,  it  may 
be  more  difficult."  Massachusetts  became  conHrmed  in  her 
claim,  as  her  inquiries  and  researches  were  extended.  She 
pressed  her  claim  upon  the  consideration  of  Congress,  and 
upon  the  consideration  of  the  governors  of  Nova  Scotia  and 
New-B  runs  wick.  Representations  were  made  by  Congress 
to  the  government  of  Qreat  Britain,  through  the  minister  of 
the  United  States. 

The  different  parties  so  far  from  settling  the  difficulties, 
probably  became  more  and  more  confirmed  in  their  different 
opinions.  After  the  organization  of  the  government  of  th« 
United  States  under  the  constitution,  by  a  resolve  passed  Feb. 
1,  1790,  it  was  "  Resolved,  that  his  excellency  the  Governor 
be,  and  he  hereby  is  requested  to  write  to  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  in  behuf  of  this  commonwealth,  informing 
him  that  the  subjects  of  his  Britannic  Majesty  have  made,  and 


■.As' 


.r-'&s 


:  '\ 


2S 

gtill  continue  to  make  encroachments  on  the  Eastern  Boundary 
of  this  commonwealth,  in  the  opinion  of  the  legislature  con> 
trary  to  the  treaty  of  peace;  and  that  his  excellency  be  re- 
quested to  forward  such  documents  as  may  be  necessary  to 
substantiate  the  facts."  Thus  Mas»achuhetts  called  on  the 
government  of  the  United  States,  to  protect  them  in  the  pos- 
session of  their  territory. 

The  doubts  whiAi  had  arisen,  extended  no  farther  than  to 
what  river  was  intended  by  the  river  St.  Croix  in  the  treaty  of 
1783  ;  the  treaty  only  describing  it  by  its  name,  nor  could  tbev^ 
for  when  that  was  settled  the  rule  was  clearly  and  distinctly 
given  for  finding  the  northwest  angle  of  Nova  Scotia.  That 
IS  clearly  implied  in  the  first  part  of  the  fifth  article  of  the 
treaty  of  1794;  for  it  says,  "Whereas  doubts  have  arisen 
what  river  was  truly  intended  under  the  name  of  the  river 
St.  Croix,  mentioned  m  the  said  treaty  of  peace,  and  forming 
a  part  of  the  boundary  therein  described,  that  question  shall 
be  referred  to  the  final  decision  of  commissioners."  The  same 
article  made  it  the  duty  of  the  commissioners,  "  by  a  declara- 
tion under  their  hands  and  seals,  to  decide  what  river  was  the 
river  St.  Croix  intended  by  the  treaty,  and  further  to  describe 
the  river  and  to  particularize  the  latitude  and  longitude  of  iti 
mouth  and  its  source.  If  any  other  doubts  could  have  existed, 
or  if  the  residue  of  the  line  could  not  have  been  ascertained  by 
a  survey,  or  if  it  had  not  been  considered  that  ".scertaining 
the  river  St.  Croix  settled  the  whole  dispute,  and  if  such  were 
not  the  convictions  of  the  contracting  parties,  it  is  not  unrea- 
sonable to  suppose,  that  further  provisions  would  have  been 
introduced  into  the  treaty. 

It  was  contended  by  the  agent  of  the  United  States  before 
the  commissioners,  that  the  river  Magaguadavic  was  the  river 
St.  Croix  truly  intended  by  the  treaty  of  1783,  and  he  found- 
ed his  claims  and  argument  on  many  depositiocs  of  the  natives, 
and  of  the  persons  who  first  settled  in  tnat  part  of  the  country, 
on  the  examination  and  reports  of  agents  on  the  letters  and 
testimony  of  several  other  persons  and  on  sundry  maps. 

It  was  contended  by  the  agent  for  his  Britannic  Majesty, 
that  the  river  Scoudiac  was  the  river  St.  Croix  truly  intended 
by  the  treaty  of  1 783,  and  he  founded  his  argument  on  the 

grant  to  Sir  William  Alexander,  Les  Carbot  and  Ohamplains 
istories  of  the  voyages  of  De  Monts,  and  their  description  of 
the  country,  the  commissions  to  Governors  of  Nova  Scotia, 
from  1719  to  1771,  the  proclamation  of  1763,  and  two  acts  of 
parliament  of  the  fourteenth  of  George  3d,  and  sundry  maps* 
and  depositions.  His  argument  and  the  facts  and  documents 
upon  which  he  founded  it,  clearly  admits  and  demonstrates, 


See  Appendix. 


4 


C^,6^^ 


"■,■:,'.:.■  .'   \  -   ':   ■■      ^^  "'''■/"^■''"''        '  "' 

that  the  only  uncertainty  was,  as  to  what  river  was  intended 
by  the  river  St.  Croix,  and  that  from  the  source  of  the  river 
which  the  coinmisbioiiers  should  decide  and  designate  accord- 
ing to  the  treaty  of  1794,  the  eastern  boundary  line  of  the 
United  States  and  the  western  boundary  of  the  province  of 
Nova  Scotia  must  commence  and  continue  due  north  to  the 
highlands,  to  wit  :  the  highlands  between  the  river  St.  Law- 
rence and  the  Hestigouche  or  the  St.  John,  according  as  the 
source  should  be  fixed  further  east  or  further  west.  He  ex- 
pressly admits  that  the  line  due  north  from  the  St.  Croix  will, 
in  any  event,  cross  the  river  St.  John  to  the  highlands,  be- 
tween that,  and  the  river  St.  Lawrence,  to  wit:*the  lands  which 
divif^.e  the  streams  which  flow  into  the  St.  Lawrence  from 
thobe  which  All  into  the  Atlantic* 

The  discussion  was  closed  in  1 798,  and  the  time  had  not  then 
arriveu,  wnen  from '*c«pt<ii/y,"or  a  desire  to  establish  a  line 
from  whi^h  they  could  attack  the  United  States  in  the  rear, 
while  their  navy  should  .attack  them  on  the  sea  board,  when 
they  were  uctermined  to  acquire  bv  effrontery  or  sophistry  the 
territory,  which  they  had  sought  m  vain  as  a  cession. 

The  commissioners  on  the  2dth  of  October,  1798,  made  the 
declaration  under  their  hands  and  sea)s,  deciding  what,  and 
describing  the  river  also,  which  was  truly  intended  by  the 
river  St.  Croix,  in  the  treaty  of  1783.f  Prior,  however,  to 
their  making  their  final  declaration,  they  had  agreed,  and 
wei  ?  about  making  it  the  final  declaration,  that  the  river 
Schoodic,  from  its  month  at  Joes  Point  to  the  lake  Genesa- 
granagum-sis,  now  called  the  round  lake,  being  the  lowest 
of  the  wiestern  Schoodic  lakes,  was  the  river  St.  Croix  of  the 
treaty  ;  which  declaration  thev  did  not  make,  but  bv  the 
agreement  or  consent  of  the  agents  of  t  he  United  States  and 
Great  Britain,  and  the  acjvice  of  the  British  Minister  |  They 
adopted  the  branch  called  the  Cheputnetecook,  to  its  source,  as 
a  part  of  the  river  which  they  were  to  decide  and  designate.  If 
the  British  government  gained  no  advantage  in  the  decision  of 
the  commissioners,  as,  from  the  evidence  submitted,  'he 
commissioners  mi^ht  well  have  decided  that  the  Magaguada- 
vic  was  the  river  St.  Croix  intended  by  the  treaty,  they  did  in 
fact  gain  a  most  decided  and  important  advantaae  in  the  adop- 
tion of  the  source  of  the  Cheputnetecook,  inst*?ad  of  the  source 
of  the  other  branch  of  the  Schoodic  river,  where  it  issues  from 
t,^e  lake  Genesagranagum-sis,  bf  irurthe  first  lake  on  the  west- 
rn  branch  of  the  Schoodic, above  its  junction  with  the  Cheput- 
netecook. By  an  ins[)ection  of  the  map,  it  will  appear  that 
thj  6riti<<h  have  gained  a  tract  of  land,  by  a  chauTe  of  the 
declaration  of  the  commissioners,  as  to  the  source  of  the  river 


Appendix  U.       t  Appendix  12.       t  Appendix  18. 


.^t^iJ^. 


'1 


river 


25  ,  .     u'  Cit-yt^^Ot^'l 

St.  Croix,  of  more  than  one  hundred  and  forty  miles  in  length,  ^^^ 

by  inure  than  ten  miles  in  breadth.      Theise  facts  are  nut       ^ 
named,  because  there  is  any  diiiponition,  on  our  part,  to  violate 
the  good  faith  pledged  in  th*^  treaty,  and  the  decision  which     ) 
was  thus  amicably  made.     The  British,  if  they  be,  as  they 
declare  themselves  to  be,  "  a  great,  honorable,  and   magnan-     < 
imous  nation,"  ought  equally   to  abide  the  deci^^ion   and  its 
consequences,  in  good  faith,  more  e.s)jecLally  as  they  gained 
so  much  by  the  result.     Here  every  real  doubt  or  difficulty 
of  any  importance  was  settled  and  removed  ;    and  nothing 
remained  but  to  run  and  mark  the  line,  and  erect  its  monu- 
ments. Trifling  differences  in  surveying  the  line,  might  occurj 
arising  from  the  variation  of  the  needle,  and  from  the  peculiar 
situation  of  the  land  on  the  line  of  the  government  of  Quebec, 
at  the  northwest  angle  of  Nova  Scotia,  one  of  which  would 
tend  to  change  the  longitude,  and  the  other  the  latitude  of  ^ae  '    i 

possibly  a  mile  ;  but  not  in  any  instance  to  a  distance  of  any 
importance  to  either  government.     Some  trifling  differeaces  ^- 

might  also  arise  in  surveying  the  line  between  the  govern- 
ment of  Qaebec  and  Massachusetts,  in  running  the  line  south-  ,, 
westerly  from  the  nt/thwest  angle  of  Nova  Scotia,    as    to 
the  precise  points  which  divide  the  waters,    and  the  lines 
which  should  connect  tho&o  points  ;  but  all  such  differences 
are  within  a  very  narrow  compass.    That  the  only  subject  of 
doubt  or  difficulty  of  any  importance  was  what  river  was 
truly  intended  by  the  river  St.   Croix,  is  not  only  conceded              * 
by  the  treaty  of  1794,  but  is  demonstrated  by  the  documen- 
tary evidence  produced  by  the  Agent  of  his  Britannic  Majes- 
ty, to  wit,  the  patents,  charters,  proclamations,  and  acts  of 
Parliament,   and   his    arguments  fonnded  upon   the*e  docu- 
ments ;  his  argument  beincr,  in  fact,  founded  upon  this  plain 
and  simple  proposition,  that  the  lines  described  by  the  treaty 
of  1783,  were,  and  were  intended  to  be  the  lines  which  had 
before  been  established,   between  the  province  of  Massachu- 
setts Bay,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  provinces  of  Quebec  and 
Nova  Scotia  on  the  other  *                                                            ' 
When  the  subject  is  again  recurred  to  by  the  respective 
governments,   it   is  not  treated   as  a  subject  involving  any 
thinj'.  more  than  possible  difficulties  of  trifliniT  importance."* 
Hence  in  a  convention  between  his  Britannic, Majesty  and  the 
XInited  State*,  which  was  dated  the  12th  day  of  May,  1803, 
but  which  was  not  ratified  by  the  United   States,  instead  of             ' 
reciting,  that  whereas  doubts  have  '  "sen,  &c.  as  in  the  trea- 
ty of  1794,  says,  "  Whereas  it  has  become  expedient  that  the 
northwest  angle  of  Nova  Scotia,  mentioned  and  described  in 
the  treaty  of  peace  between    his  Majesty  and  the   United 
States,  should  be  ascertained  and  determined,  and  that  the 


i  ■ 


y;*.  ■■=! 


"Appendix  11. 

.     4 


S6 


line  bettveen  the  source  of  the  rirer  St.  Croix,  and  the  said 
northwest  angle  of  Nova  Scotia,  should  be  run  and  marked, 
according 'to  the  provisions  of  the  said  treaty  of  peace."  And 
again,  when  the  subject  is  recurred  to,  in  a  paper  delivered  to 
Lord  Harrowby,  September  6th,  1804,  the  following  lan- 
guage is  used  :  ^*  By  the  treaty  of  1783,  between  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain,  the  boundary  betw*)<}B  those  States 
and  Nova  Scotia  and  Canada,  is  fixed  by  a  line,  which  is  to 
run  along  the  highlands  bounding  the  southern  waters  of  the 
St  Lawrence."  The  same  subject  is  once  more  recurred  to 
by  our  Ministers  at  the  Court  of  St.  James,  in  April,  1807, 
and  the  same  language  is  used  in  a  proposed  article  on  the 
same  subject,  as  was  used  in  the  unratified  convention  of 
I8U3,  before  recited. 

f  The  subject  is  not  again  recurred  to  between  the  respective 
governments  until  1814,  in  the  correspondence  which  pre- 
ceded, and  in  the  fifth  article  of  the  Treaty  of  Ghent.  In  or- 
der to  arrive  at  a  full  and  perfect  knowledge  of  the  facts,  to 
the  end  that  the  just  and  true  interpretation  of  the  fifth  article 
of  the  Treaty  of  Ghent  may  more  fully  appear,  a  particular 
examination  of  the  correspondence  which  preceded  it,  between 
the  ministers  of  the  respective  governments  of  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain,  connected  with  the  great  chain  of 
evidence  of  title,  and  implied,  and  direct,  and  positive  con- 
cessions of  the  British,  is  deemed  important.  The  correspon- 
dence touching  the  subject  in  discussion  is  as  follows. 

In  the  protocol  made  by  the  American  Commissioners  of 
the  two  first  conferences  held  with  the  British  Commissioners, 
the  third  point  presented  by  the  Commissioners  on  the  part  of 
the  British  as  subjects  of  discussion  is,  ^'  the  revision  of  the 
boundary  line  between  the  territories  of  the  United  States  and 
those  of  Great  Britain  adjoining  them  in  North  America."''*' 

In  the  protocol  of  conference  of  August  8,  1814,  among  the 
subjects  stated  for  discussion  by  the  British  Commissioners 
the  third  is  "A  revision  of  the  boundary  line  between  the 
'  British  and  American  territories  \vith  a  view  to  prevent  fu- 
ture uncertainty  and  dispute."! 

In  a  leiie    dated  Ghent  August  12,  181 4,  from  the  American 

Commissioners  to  the  Secretary  of  State-I    The  British  Com- 

'■'  missioners  stated  three  subjects  as  those  upon  which  it  appea- 

'    red  to  them  that  the  discussions  would   be  likely  to  turn,  and 

on  which  they  w£"e  instrnctdd.      The  third  subject  stated  is 

"A  revision  of  the  boundary  line  between  the  United  States 

'•  and  the  adjacent  Britisli  Colonies."      With   respect   to  thia 

point,  they  expressly  disclaimed   any  intention  on  the  part  of 


'I 


*  state  papers,  vol.  9,  page  827.— f  ib.  330.— t  ib.  820. 


«•■<■■ 


.,.;4.,- 


^g 


their  government,  to  acquire  an  increase  of  territory,  and 
represented  the  proposed  revision  as  intended  merely  for  the 
purpose  of  preventing  uncertainty  and  dispute.  In  a  letter 
dated  Ghent,  August  19,  1814,  from  the  American  Commis- 
sioners to  the  Secretary  of  State,  the  third  subject  stated  by 
the  British  Commissioners  is  *^A  direct  communication  from 
Halifax  and  the  province  of  New-Brunswick  to  Quebec  to  be 
secured  to 'Great  Britain.  In  answer  to  our  question,  in  what 
manner  this  was  to  be  effected  ?  we  were  told,  that  it  must  be 
done  by  a  cession  to  Great  Britain  of  that  portion  of  tlie  Dis- 
trict of  Maine,  (in  the  State  of  Massachusetts)  which  inter- 
venes between  New-Brunswick  and  Quebec,  and  prevents 
their  direct  communication."* 

In  a  note  of  the  Britisli  Commissioners  dated  Ghent,  August 
19,  1314,  they  say,  '^as  they  are  desirous  of  stating  every 
point  in  connexion  with  the  subject,  which  may  reasonably 
influence  the  decision  of  the  American  plenipotentiaries  in  the 
exercise  of  their  discretion,  they  avail  tliemselves  of  this  op- 
portunity to  repeat  whatHthey  have  already  stated,  that  Great 
Britain  desires  the  revision  m.  thfjrontier  beticeen  her  j^Torth  Jimeri' 
can  dominions  and  those  oji^e  United  States,  not  with  any  view  to 
an  acquisition  of  territory ^^^suchy  but  for  the  purpose  of  securing 
her  possessions,  and  preverU^g  ftUure  dispules."f 

•Then  follows  a  proposition  .hat  the  military  possession  of  the 
lakes  shall  be  left  in  the  hands  of  t]\e  British;  then  the  note 
proceeds,  "  if  this  can  be  adjusted,  there  will  then  remain  for 
discussion  the  arrangement  of  the  north  westerhboundary  be- 
tween lake  Superior  and  the  Missisippi,  the  freiB  navigation  of 
that  river,  and  such  a  variation  of  the  line  of  frontier  in  may 
secure  a  direct  eommunication  between  Quebec  and  Hatifnx,, 

In  a  letter  dated  Glient,  August  24,  1814,  from  the  Atneri- 
can  to  the  British  Commissioners,  they  say — "The  uhder«lj^- 
ed  further  perceive,  that  under  the  alledged  purpose  of  >.cmen- 
ing  a  direct  communication  between  two  of  the  British  prdv-. 
inces  in  America,  the  British  government  require  a  ces^t^  of 
territory  forming  a  part  of  one  of  the  States  of  the  »Sinerican  Clwn, 
and  that  they  propose,  without  purpose  specifically  alledged, 
to  draw  the  boundary  line  westward,  not  from  the  Lake  of  the 
Woods,  as  it  now  is,  but  from  Lake  Superior.  It  must  be 
perfectW  immaterial  to  the  United  States,  whether  the  object 
of  the  British  Government  in  demanding  the  dismemberment 
of  the  United  States,  is  to  acquire  territory  as  such,  or  for 
purposes  less  liable  in  the  eyes  of  the  wo^;ld,  to  be  ascribed  to 
the  desire  of  aggrandizement.  Whatever  the  motive  may  be, 
and  with  whatever  consistency  views  of  conquest  may  be  dis- 
claimed, while  demanding  for  herself  or  for  the  Indians,  a 

—  I         I  I  n 

*'8t«te  pipers,  Yol.  9,  p.  832.— t  lb.  3S9. 


28 

Session  of  territory  more  extensive  than  the  whole  island  of 
Great  Britain,  the  duty  marked  uut  for  the  undersigned  h  the 
same.  They  have  no  authority  to  cede  any  part  of  tke  territory 
of  the  United  States;  and  to  no  stipulation  to  tlmt  e^ect  voill  ihey  svh- 
scribe. ^^*  ' 

In  a  letter  dated  Ghent,  September  4,  1814,  from  the  Brit- 
ish to  the  American  Commissioners,  they  say,  *'With  respect 
to  the  boundary  of  the  District  of  Maine,  and  that  of  the  north- 
western frontier  of  the  United  States,the  undersigned  were  not 
prepared 'to  anticipate  the  objections  contained  m  the  note  of 
the  American  Plenipotentiaries,  that  they  were  instructed  to 
treat  for  the  revision  of  their  boundary  lines,  with  the  state- 
ment which  they  have  subsequently   made,  that  they  had  no 

*  autkority  to  cede  any  part  however  insignijicant  of  the  territories  of 
the  United  States,  although  the  proposal  left  it  open  for  themto 
demand  an  equivalent  for  such  cession  in  territory  or  otherwise 

"  The  American  plenipotentiaries  must  be  aware  that  the 
boundary  of  the  District  of  Maine  has  never  been  correctly 
ascertained  ;  that  the  one  asserted  at  present  bv  the  American 
Government,  bv  which  the  direct  communication  between 
Halifax  and  Quebec  becomes  interupted,  was  not  in  contem- 
plation of  the  British  plenipotentiaries  who  concluded  the 
treaty  of  1783,  and  that  the  greater  part  of  the  territory  in  ques- 
tion is  actually  unoccupied.      The  undersigned   are  persuatled 

.-._  that  an  arranrement  on  this  point  might  be  easily  made,  if 
entered  into  with  the  spirit  of  conciliation,  without  any  pre- 
judice to  the  interests  of  the  district  in  qufcs^tion.  As  the  ne- 
cessity f?r  fixing  some  boundary  for  the  northwestern  frontier 
has  been  mutually  acknowledged,  a  proposal  for  a  discussion 
on  that  subject  cannot  be  considered  as  a  demand  for  a  cession 
of  territory,  unless  the  United  States  are  prepared  to  assert, 
there  is  no  limit  to  their  territories  in  that  direction,  and  that 
availing  themselves  of  the  geoicraphical  error  upon  which  that 
part  of  the  tre,  ly  of  1783  was  founded,  they  will  acknowledge 

,     no  boundary  whatever,  then,  unquestionably,  any  proposition 
,  to  fix  one,  be  it  what  it  may,  must  be  considered  as  demanding 
a  large  cession  of  territory  from  the  United  States. "f 

In  a  letter  dated  Ghent,  September  9,  1814,  from  the  Ame- 
rican to  the  British  Commissioners,  the  American  Comrais- 
sinners  say, — "  With  regard  to  the  cession  of  a  part  of  the 
District  of  Maine,  as  to  which  the  British  plenipotentiaries 
are  unable  to  reconcile  the  objections  made  by  the  under- 
signed, with  their  previous  declarations,  they  have  the  honor 
to  olverve,  that  at  the  conference  of  the  8th  ult.  the  British 
plenipotentiaries  stated,  as  one  of  the  subjects  suitable  for  dis- 
cussion, a  revision  of  the  boundary  line  between  the  British 


*  Statu  Papers,  vol.  9,  p.  881. 


t  Ih. 


,  ;*   »     J* 


i    .' 


29 


pre- 


me- 

rais- 

the 

laries 
der- 

Dnor 
tish 
dis- 
tish 


f^ 


and  American  territories,  with  a  view  to  prevent  uncertainty 
and  dispute:  and  that  it  was  on  the  point  thus  stated,  that  the 
'^fidersigned  declared  that  they  were  provided  with  instructions 
from  their  government;  a  declaration  which  did  not  imply 
that  they  were  instructed  to  uialie  any  cession  of  territory  in 
anv  quarter,  or  to  agree  to  a  revision  of  the  line,  or  to  any 
exchange  of  territory  where  no  uncertainty  or  dispute  existed. 

"  The  undersigned  perceive  no  uncertainty  or  matter  of 
doubt  in  the  treaty  of  1783,  with  respect  to  that  part  of  the 
boundary  of  the  District  of  Maine  which  would  be  affected  by 
the  proposal  of  Great  Britain  on  that  subject.  They  never 
have  understood  that  the  British  plenipotentiaries  who  signed 
that  treatv  had  contemplated  a  boundary  different  from  that 
fixed  by  the  treaty  and  which  reqni res  nothing  more,  in  order 
to  be  definitely  ascertained,  than  to  be  surveyed  in  conformity 
with  its  provisions.  Thisaubject  not  having  been  a  matter  of  un- 
certainty or  c{fspv/e,  the  uridercigiied  are  not  in!!>tructed  upon  it; 
and  they  can  have  no  authority  to  cede  any  part  oj  the  !!itate  of  Massa- 
chusetts^ even  for  what  the  British  Government  might  consider  a  fair 
equivalent.'"'^ 

In  a  letter  dated  Ghent,  September  19, 181 4,  from  the  British 
to  the  American  Commissioners,  they  say, — *'With  resjiect  to 
the  boundary  of  the  District  of  Maine,  the  undersigned  observe 
with  regret,  that  although  the  American  plenipotentiaries 
have  acknowledijed  themselves  to  be  instructed  to  discuss  a 
revision  of  the  boundary  line,  with  a  view  to  prevent  uncer- 
tainty and  dispute,  yet  by  assuming  an  excliMive  right  at  once  to 
decide  what  is  or  is  ru>t  a  subject  <f  uncertainty  and  dif^pute^  they  have 
rendered  their  powers  nugdtory  or  inadmissably  partial  in  their  ope- 
ration, "f 

In  a  letter  dated  Ghent,  September  26, 1814,  from  the  Amer- 
ican to  the  British  Commissioners,  they  say,  "  The  undersign- 
ed are  far  from  assuming  the  exclusive  right  to  decide,  what  is, 
or  what  is  not  a  subject  of  uncertainty  or  dispvJtCy  with  regard  to  the 
boundary  of  the  District  of  J[Iaine.  But  until  the  British  Pleni- 
potentiaries shall  have  shewn  in  wliat  respect  the  part  of  that 
boundary  which  would  be  effected  by  their  proposal^  is  such  a  subject^ 
the  undersigned  may  be  permitted  to  assert  that  it  is  not.''^ 

The  treaty  of  1783  described  the  boundary  as  "  aline  to  be 
drawn  along  the  middle  of  the  river  St.  Croix  from  its  mouth 
in  the  Bay  of  Fimdy,  to  its  source,  and  from  its  source  directly 
north  to  the  highlands  which  divide  the  rivers  that  fall  into 
the  Atlantic  Ocean  from  those  which  fall  into  the  river  St. 
Lawrence,  anc"  thence  along  the  said  highlands  to  the  north- 
westernmost  head  of  Connecticut  river."  "  Doubts  having 
arisen  as  to  the  St.  Croix  designated  in  the  treaty  of  1783,  a  pro- 


*8tato  papers,  vol.  9,  p.  898. — ^^tp.  469. 


/  30 

visiuti  was  made  in  that  of  1794  for  ascertaining  it ;  and  it 
may  be  fairly  inferred,  from  the  limitation  of  tlie  article  to 
that  sole  object,  that, even  iu  the  judgment  of  Grca^  firitain, 
no  other  subject  of  controversy  existed  in  relation  to  the  <^- 

^  tension  of  the  boundary  line  from  the  source  of  that  river. 

'  That  river  and  its  source  having  been  accordingly  ascertained 
the  undersigned  are  prepared  to  propose  the  appoirUmerU  of  com- 
mimoners  by  the  two  governments,^  to  extend  the  line  to  the  highlands, 
conformably  to  the  treaty  of  1783.  The  proposal,  however,  of 
the  British  Plenipotentiaries  ioasnot  to  ascertain,  but  to  vary  those 
lines  in  such  a  manner  as  to  secure  a  direct  eommunicalion  between 
Q,uebec  and  Halifax ;  an  alteration  which  could  not  be  effected 

,  without  a  cession  by  the  United  States  to  Great  Britain  of  all 
that  portion  of  the  State  of  Massachusetts  intervening  between 
the  province  of  New  Brunswick  and  Quebec,  althuuffh  un- 
questionably included  within  the  boundary  lines  fixed  By  that 
treaty.  Whether  it  was  contemplated  on  the  part  of  Great 
Britain  to  obtain  a  cession  with,  or  without  an  equivalent  in 
frontier  or  otherwise,  the  undersigned  in  stating  that  they  were 
not  instructed,  or  authorized  to  treat  on  the  subject  of  cession^ 
have  not  declined  to  discuss  any  matter  of  uncertainty  or  dis- 
putpy  which  th^  Bntish  Plenipotentiaries  may  point  out  to  exist,  re- 
spi^cting  ihe  boundaries  in  that  or  any  other  quarter,  and  are, 
therelbre,  not  liable  to  tlie  imputation  of  having  rendered  their 
powers  on  the  subject  nugatory  or  inadmissibly  partial  in  their 
operation."*  , 

In  a  letter  dated  Ghent,  October  8,  1814,  from  the  British 
to  the  American  Commissioners,  they  say,  *^  The  British  gov- 
ernment never  required  that  all  that  nortion  of  Massachusetts 
intervening  between  the  province  of  New  Brunswick  and  Que- 
bec, should  be  ceded  to  Great  Britain,  but  only  that  small  por- 
um  of  unpHtled  country  which  internipts  the  communication 
Detween  i  ^ifax  and  Quebec, (there  being  much  doubt  whether 
it  docs  not  already  belong  to  Great  Britain. ")f  In  the  letter 
dated  Ghent,  Oct.  ^1,  1814,  from  the  British  to  the  American 
Commissioners,  they  say,  "  On  the  question  of  boundary  be- 
tween the  dominions  of  his  Majesty  and  those  of  the  United 
States,  the  undersigned  are  led  to  expect,  from  the  discussion 
which  tliis  subject  has  already  undergone,  that  the  northrwest- 
cm  boundary  from  the  lake  of  the  Woods  to  the  Mississippi, 
(the  intended  arrangement  of  1803,)  will  be  admitted  without 
objection. 

"  In  regard  to  other  boundaries  the  American  Plenipotentia- 
ries, in.  their  note  of  August  24,  appeared  in  some  measure  to 
object  to  the  proposition  then  made  by  the  undersigned,  as  not 
bemg  on  the  basis  o^     ii  possidetis.     T^e  ijuic^trsigne^  are  wi|- 


'S».ate  papers,  rol,  9,  | 


■ih.  p.  41ft. 


'■VJ^- 


IrJS^Kl 


31 

ling  to  treat  on  that  basiS)  subject  to  such  modiiicationg  as  mu- 
tiuu  convenience  may  be  found  to  require  ;  and  they  trust  that 
the  American  Plenipotentiaries  will  shew,  by  their  ready  ac- 
ceptance of  this  basis,  that  they  duly  appreciate  the  modera- 
tion of  his  Majesty's  government,  in  so  far  consulting  the  honor 
and  fair  pretensions  of  the  United  States  as,  in  the  relative  situ- 
ation of  the  two  countries  to  authorize  such  a  proposition."* 

In  a  letter  dated  Ghent,  October  24,  1814,  from  the  Amer- 
can  to  the  British  Commissioners  they  say,  "  Amongst  tiie  gen- 
eral observations  which  the  undersigned  in  their  note  of  Aug. 
24th,  made  on  the  propositions  then  brought  forward  on  the 
part  of  the  British  government,  they  remarked,  that  those 
propositions  were  neither  founded  on  the  basis  of  uH  possidetis^ 
nor  that  of  status  ante  bellun..  But  so  far  were  they  from  sug- 
gesting the  uti  possidetis  as  tlie  basis  on  which  they  were  dis- 
posed to  treat,  that  in  the  same  note  they  expressly  stated,  that 
they  had  been  instructed  to  conclude  a  peace  on  the  principle 
of  both  parties  restoring  whatever  territory  they  might  have 
taken.  The  undersign^  also  declared  in  that  note,  tnat  they 
had  no  authority  to  cede  any  part  of  the  territoi^y  of  the  Uni- 
ted States,  and  that  to  no  stipulation  to  that  effect  would  they 
subscribe  :  and  in  the  note  of  the  9th  of  September,  after  hav- 
ing shewn  that  the  basis  of  tUi  possidetis,  such  as  it  was  known 
to  exist  at  the  commencement  of  the  negotiation,  gave  no 
claim  to  his  Britannic  Majesty  to  cessions  of  territory,  found- 
ed upon  the  right  of  conquest,  they  added  that  even  if  the 
chances  of  war  should  give  to  the  British  arms  a  momentary 
possession  of  other  parts  of  the  territory  of  the  United  States, 
such  events  would  not  alter  their  views  with  regard  to  the 
terms  of  peace  to  which  they  would  give  their  consent. 

"  The  undersigned  can  only  now  repeat  those  declarations, 
and  decline  treating  upon  the  basis  of  uti  possidetis,  or  upon 
any  otfier  principU  involving  a  cession  of  any  part  of  the  territory 
of  the  United  States,  as  they  have  uniformly  stated,  they  can 
only  treat  upon  tlie  principle  of  a  mutual  restoration  of  what- 
ever territory  may  have  been  taken  by  either  party.  From 
this  principle  they  cannot  recede,  and  the  undersigned,  after 
the  repeated  declarations  of  the  British  Plenipotentiaries,  that 
Great  Britain  had  no  view  to  the  acquisition  of  territory  in 
this  negotiation,  deem  it  necessary  to  add,  that  the  utility  of 
its  continuance  depends  on  their  adherence  to  this  principle!,  "f 

In  a  letter  dated  Ghent,  October  25,  I8l4,  from  the  Amer- 
ican Commissioners  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  they,  after  sta- 
ting that  an  article  had  been  reduced  to  writing,  securing  mere- 
ly an  Indian  pacification,  had  been  agreed  to  be  accepted,  sub- 
ject to  the  ratification  or  rejection  of  the  government  of  the 


r       ;i 


i  5 


state  Paperf.vol.  9,  p.  427. 


t  lb.  428. 


32 


.i. 


\  ' 


United  States,  say,  *<  But  vrill  perceive  that  our  request  for 
the  exchange  of  a  project  ofa  treaty  has  been  eluded,  and  that 
in  their  last  note,  the  British  Plenipotentiaries  have  advanced 
.  a  demand,  not  only  new  and  inadmissible,  but  totally  incom- 
~  patible  with  their  uniform  previous  declarations, that  Great' 
Britain  had  no  view  in  this  negotiation  to  any  acquisition  of 
territory.  It  will  be  perceived,  that  this  new  pretension  was 
brought  forward  immediately  after  the  accounts  had  been  re- 
ceived, that  a  British  force  had  taken  possession  of  all  that, 
part  of  the  State  of  Massachusetts  situated  east  of  Penobscot 
river."* 

It  having  been  shewn,  in  the  first  part  of  this  report,  what 
the  lines  between  Massachusetts  and  Nova  Scotia,  and  Massa- 
chusetts and  the  province  of  Quebec,  as  formed  and  estab- 
lished by  the  government  were,  prior  to  tiie  provisional 
treaty,  and  the  definitive  treaty  of  peace  of  1 783,  and  the 
inve-)tigation  which  took  place,  and  the  care  and  diligence 
with  wiiich  the  subject  was  examined,  by  the  cominissiouers 
of  both  governments,  and  the  cabinet  of  Great  Britain,  and 
that  it  was  the  it^tention  of  both  governments,  to  adopt  the 
Hues  above  mentioned,  as  a  part  of  the  boundary  of  the  United 
States,  and  that  the  treaty  itself,  in  describing  the  boundary, 
contains  almost  the  piecii^e  langua;^e  which  the  British  had 
often  used  in  relation  to  the  same  lines  ;  it  having  also  been 
shewn  that  the  only  difficulty  in  relation  to  the  line  arose 
from  the  uncertainty  as  to  what  river  was  truly  intended  by 
the  river  St.  Croix,  and  which  uncertainty  arose  from  facts 
and  circumstances  which  existed  long  before,  and  at  the  time 
of  concluding  the  treaties,  and  which  were  not  removed  by 
the  treaty,  in  consequence  of  the  river  St.  Croix  not  being 
designated  with  any  more  particularity,  than  it  was  before, 
in  the  patents,  charters,  acts  of  Parliament,  and  documents, 
in  which  it  had  been  mentioned  ;  and  also,  that  in  the 
discussions  on  the  subject  between  the  governments  of  the 
United  States  and  Great  Britain,  it  had  been  aduiitted, 
more  especially  by  the  agent  for  the  latter  that  let  the 
commissioners  designate  what  river  they  would  as  the  river 
St.  Craix,  truly  inte  ided  by  the  treaty  of  pp\ee,  from  the 
source  of  that  river  the  line  run  due  nortli  to  the  high- 
lands, the  southern  line  of  the  government  of  Qjwbec,  and 
the  northern  line  of  Massachusetts,  and  the  pr^j^Vince  of 
Nova  Scotia,  and  in  any  event  even,  if  they  adopted  the 
most  western  point,  which  he  described  as  the  hea^jl:  of  the 
river  St.  Croix,  the  line  running  north,  must  cross  tlia  river 
;  St.  John  to  the  hi<;h]ands  div^iding  the  waters  whic^  f'\\\ 
into  that  river,  from  those  which  fall  into  the  river  St. 
Lawrence. f 


♦  St«t«  Papers,  Tol.  9,  p,  37J». 


t  Appendix  II. 


d3 


river 
the 

ligh- 
aiid 

e  of 
the 

fthe 

river 

fall 

St. 


It  aUo  having  been  further  shown,  that  sincfe  1798,  whea 
the  river  St.  Croix  was  designated  by  the  Commii«s>ioners  un- 
der the  treaty  of  1794,  from  all  the  correspondence  and 
treaties,  which  had  been  formed  or  proposed  to  be  formed  by 
the  Commissioners  of  the  two  governments  the  right  of  the 
United  States  had  not  been  considered  any  way  doubtful,  and 
the  whole  object  of  the  arrangements  thug  attempted  to  b« 
made  had  been  limited  to  surveying  and  marking  the  line. 

With  a  recurrence  to  these  facts  and  circumstances,  a  more 
particular  attention  to  the  corret>jpondence  which  preceded  the 
treaty  of  Ghent,  which  is  herein  before  quoted,  to  the  end 
that  the  true  intent  and  meaning  of  the  contracting  parties  in 
the  fifth  article  of  that  treaty  may  be  more  clearly  ascertained 
and  better  understood,  is  not  deemed  unimportant. 

The  British  Commissioners  ask  a  revision  of  the  Boundary 
line  between  the  United  States  and  the  adjacent  British  Colo- 
nies, disclaiming  expressly  at  the  same  time,  any  disposition  to 
acquire  an  increase  of  territory,  and  limiting  their  proposi- 
tion to  the  simple  fact,  of  so  ascertaining  the  line  as  to  prevent 
uncertainty  and  dispute.  Such  was  their  first  proposition; 
but  as  the  conferences  progressed,  they  in  some  measure  varied 
their  proposition,  and  instead  of  asking  simply  a  revision  of 
the  line,  to  prevent  uncertainty  and  dispute,  they  ask  a  direct 
communication  from  Halifax  and  the  province  of  New-Bruns- 
wick to  Quebec;  and  when  they  are  requested  to  explain,  ex- 
plicitly declare  that  it  must  be  done  by  a  cession  of  that  portion 
oj  the  District  of  Maine  which  hitervenes  between  ^eve- Brunswick 
and  Quebec  and  prevents  a  direct  communication. 

Here  they  clearly  and  distinctly  ask  the  territory  as  a  cession, 
thereby  conceding  the  title  is  not  in  them,  which  the  subor- 
dinate agents  since  appointed,  have  had  the  ingenuity  to  claim 
as  a  right.  The  American  Commissioners  most  clearly  and 
explicitly  deny  any  authority  on  their  part,  to  cede  any  por- 
tion of  the  territory  asked  of  them,  whether  to  secure  the 
right  of  passage  between  their  different  provinces  or  other- 
wise, and  the  denial  is  repeated  as  often  as  the  subject  recurs 
in  the  conferences  or  correspondence. 

The  British  Commissioners,  in  giving  a  construction  to  their 
own  proposition  for  securing  a  direct  communication  between 
New-Brunswick  and  Quebec,  say  "  their  proposal  left  it  open 
to  the  American  Commissioners,  to  demand  an  equivalent  for  such 
cession  in  territory  or  otherwise."  Here  our  right  is  again  con- 
ceded, in  language  which  admits  no  doubt,  for  the  supposition 
that  the  British  would  consent  to  purchase  of  us  that  territory 
to  which  they  had  title,  \»  HibsMrd  and  prepostc^ronra.    The  Brit^ 


i  ■ 


ii 


'# 


>w.n'wwB" 


wmmmm 


«■■■ 


■     34     •  *  ■"'■■  ■      '    - 

iatli  Are  tdo  vigilant  hi  their  negotiations,  to  overlook  their  own 
claims,  whether  well  or  ill  founded.  They  are  not  generous 
beyond  what  their  interest  dictates,  nor  are  they  liable  to  the 
imputation  of  undue  or  disinterested  generosity  in  their  nego- 
iiations. 

The  American  Ministers  most  explicitly  stated,  that  they 
ixrere  not  instructed  to  agree  to  any  revision  of  the  line  where 
no  uncertainty  or  dispute  existed,  and  tliat  they  could  perceive 
no  uncertainty  or  matter  of  doubt  in  the  treaty  of  lt83,  with 
regard  to  that  part  of  the  boundary  of  the  District  of  Maine, 
which  would  be  effected  by  the  proposal  of  Great  Britain  on 
the  subject — That  they  never  understood  that  the  British  plen- 
ipotefitiarifei^  who. signed  that  treaty,  had  contemplated  a  boun- 
dary difi'ereht  from  that  Axed  by  the  treaty,  and  which,  requires 
toothing  morey  in  order  to  be  definitively  ascertained  than  to  be  sur' 
veyed  in  conformity  mth  its  provisions.  The  subject  not  having 
been  a  matter  ef  uncertainty  or  dispute,  they  were  not  instruc- 
ted upon  it,  add  had  no  authority  to  cede  any  part  of  the  State 
of  Massachusetts,  even  for  what  the  British  might  consider  a 
fail*  equivalent. 

To  which  the  British  Ministers  replied,  that  although  the 
American  Commissioners  acknowledged  themselves  to  be  in- 
structed to  discuss  the  revision  of  the  boundary  line,  yet  by 
assuming  to  decide  for  themselves  what  was  or  what  was  not 
a  subject  of  uncertainty  or  dispute,  they  had  rendered  their 
powers  nugatory  or  inadmissably  partial. 

The  American  Commissioners  having  stated  their  construc- 
tion of  the  treaty  of  1783,  as  it  applied  to  the  line  between 
Maine,  and  the  rrovinces  of  Nova  Scotia  and  Canada,  say  that 
they  have  not  pretended  to  assume  any  thing,  but  shall  perse- 
vere in  their  opinions  until  the  Britisli  Commissioners  snould 
point  out,  in  what  respect  the  part  of  the  boundary,  which 
would  be  affected  by  their  proposal,  is  such  a  subject  of  uncer- 
tainty or  dispute.  That  all  the  doubts  which  could  have  ever 
existed  in  relation  to  the  line,  were  settled  under  the  treaty  of 
1794,  and  were  prepared  to  propose  the  appointment  of  com- 
missioners to  extend  the  lines  to  the  highlands  in  conformity 
to  the  treaty  of  1783.  That  the  proposition  of  the  British 
was  to  vary  those  lines  by  obtaining  a  cession  of  the  territo* 
ry  between  New  Brunswick  and  Quebec,  although  that  terri- 
tory was  unquestionably  included  within  the  boundary  lines 
fixed  by  the  treaty. 

Although  the  subject  is  asain  thus  clearly  pressed  upon  the 
consideration  of  the  British  Commissioners,  and  they  are  call- 
ed upon  to  point  out  any  uncertainty  or  dispute,  or  cause  of 
uncertainty  or  dispute,  in  relation  to  the  boundary,  with  a 


perfe'ct  uncleratanillns:,  that  their  acquiescence  would  be  taken 
a«  tiie  adinission  of  the  fact,  tu  wit,  that  there  wan  no  uncer- 
tainty or  di^iMite  as  to  the  boundary  line;  they  j>ointed  out  no 
uncertainty,  but  contented  themselves  by  saying  the  ''  British 
Government  never  required  that  all  that  portion  of  Mas-:achu- 
setts  which  intervenes  between  the  province  of  New  Bruns- 
wick and  Quebec  should  be  ceded  to  Great  Britain,  but  only  tJutt 
small  portion  of  territory  which  interrupts  tlu  communication  between 
HiUifax  and  Quebec  (there  bein<r  much  doubt  whether  it  does 
not  already  belong  to  Great  Britain.")  Here  no  uncertainty 
or  di>pute  is  pointed  out,  they  do  not  once  say  the  line  stops 
at  Mars  hill,  or  any  other  point,  but  admit  that  it  does  not,  by 
invariably  asking  the  territory,  or  a  communication  between 
New  Brunswick  and  Quebec  or  Halifax  and  Quebec  as  a  ces- 
sion. Instead  of  meeting  the  proposition  of  the  American 
Commissioners,  in  the  frankness  and  candor  with  which  it 
was  made,  they -do  no  more  than  snperadd  a  doubt,  which  the 
whole  correspondence  shews  they  did  not  believe,  perhaps 
-with  a  glimering  hope  that  the  British  Government,  might 
find  some  daring  Aji^ent  who  would  have  the  hardihood  to 
clnim,  and  by  ingenious  sophistry  endeavor  to  maintain,  as  a 
right,  that  which  from  thur  convictions  of  right  and  justicp, 
they  requested  only  as  a  cession;  some  one  who  would  not  be 
rei^trained,  by  that  high  minded  and  honorable  course,  which 
ought  ever  to  be  preserved,  to  maintain  the  relations  of  peace 
and  harmony  between  nations;  but  would  sacriBce  every  con- 
sideration of  that  kind  to  acquire  a  temporary  advantage  re- 
gardless of  its  future  results. 

After  the  British  had  taken  military  possession  of  Castine, 
and  claimed,  from  that  circumstance,  the  military  possession 
of  the  territory  of  the  State  of  Maine,  east  of  Penobscot  river, 
and  having  altogether  failed,  even  in  the  prospect  of  obtain- 
ing any  part  of  the  State  of  Maine  by  cession,  they  change 
their  proposition,  and,  to  effect  the  same  object,  propose  tHe 
principle  of  uti  possidetis,  as  the  basis,  subject  to  such  modifi- 
cations as  mutual  convenience  may  be  found  to  require.  To 
this  proposition,  the  American  commissioners  promptly  and 
unequivocally,  as  they  had  done  on  all  other  occasions,  re- 
fused treating  "  on  the  principle  of  uti  possidetisy  or  upon  any 
other  principle  involving  a  cession  of  any  part  of  the  terri- 
tory of  the  United  States." 

Can  it  for  a  moment  be  supposed,  that  when  the  British 
commissioners  so  often  requested  the  territory  as  a  cession, 
and  expressed  a  disposition  to  give  an  equivalent,  if  it  would  be 
received,  and  when  they  were  as  often  and  peremptorily 
denied,  on  the  ground  of  total  want  o^  authority  to  cede,  that 


!|i 


^^^Wlfpp"iipp(" 


mmt 


it  was  the  Intention  of  tlie  commissinnerft  to  do  any  tiling: 
more,  than  'to  provide  for  the  survey  and  marking  of  the 
lines,  and  to  guard  against  any  possible  difficulties  of  a  minor 
character,  such  as  the  variation  of  the  needle,  or  the  precise 
tpot,  where  the  corner,  to  wit,  the  noithweHt  angle  of  Nova 
Scotia,  should  be  fixed,  on  the  range  of  hi^hlanda,  limiting 
the  sources  of  those  rivers  which  empty  themselves  into  the 
river  St.  Lawrence,  or  some  other  possible  diificulties  of 
m  similar  character,  none  of  which  would  vary  the  linet 
materially,  or  in  any  important  degree,  to  either  government? 
When  the  whole  is  fairly  and  candidly  examined,  such  must 
be  the  conclusion.  No  other  conclusion  can  be  made,  unlese 
it  be  on  the  ground  that  the  American  commissioners  under- 
took to  exercise  a  power,  which  they  so  often  and  explicitly 
declared  to  the  British,  they  did  not  possess,  and  if  they  did 
exercise  a  power  which  they  did  not  possess,  their  acts  were 
not  obligatory  upon  the  government 

A  careful  examination  of  the  fifth  article  of  the  treaty  of 
Ohent,  does  not  involve  a  conclusion,  that  the  commissioner* 
departed  from  the  powers  friven  them,  and  their  repeated  anil 
reiterated  declarations.  The  part  of  the  article  relating  to 
the  point  under  discussion,  is  as  follows  :  *'  Whereas  neither 
that  point  of  the  highlands,  lying  due  north  from  the  source 

A  ;  of  the  river  St.  Croix,  and  designated  in  a  former  treaty  of 
^  peace  between  the  two  powers,  as  the  northwest  angle  of 
V^^  Nova  Scotia,  nor  the  north  westernmost  head  of  Connecticut 
river,  has  yet  been  ascertained,  and  whereas  that  boundary 
line  between  the  dominions  of  the  two  powers,  which  extends 
from  the  source  oj  the  river  St.  Croix,  directly  north,  to  the 
above-mentioned  angle  of  Nova  Scotia^  tlience  along  the  said 
hiii^hlands  which  divide  those  rivers  that  empty  themselves 
into  the  river  St.  Lawrence,  from  tho^e  which  fall  into  the 
Atlantic  Ocean,  to  the  north  western  most  head  of  (.Connecticut 
river,  thence  down  along  that   river  to  the  forty-fifth  des:ree 

V  i  of  north  latitude,  until  it  strikes  the  river  Iroquois  or  Catara- 

guy,  has  not  yet  been  surveyed  ;  it  is  agreed  for  the^e  several 
purpo!!>es.,  two  Commissioners  shall  be  appniuted,  sworn  and  au- 
thorized to  act  exactly  in  the  manner  directed  with  respect  to 
those  mentioned  in  the  next  precedina:  article,  unless  otherwise 
specified  in  the  present  article.  The  said  Commissioners  shall 
have  power  to  ascertain  the  points  abovementioned,  in  confor- 
mity with  the  provisions  of  the  said  treaty  cf  peace  of  one 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  eisrhty  three,  and  shall  cause  the 
boundary  aforesaid  to  be  surveyed  and  marked  according  to 
the  said  provisions.  The  said  Commissioners  shall  make  a 
map  of  said  boundary,  and  annex  it  to  a  declaration  under  their 


^^ 


,u. 


A 


if* 


t^^ 


y 


\ 


«,.v 


•    St. 


3T 


hands  and  seals,  certifying  it  to  be  a  tnie  map  of  said  bounda- 
ry, and  particularizing  the  latitude  of  the  iiorthwent  angle  uf 
Nova  Scotia>  and  of  the  northwedtenimoMt  head  of  Connecti- 
cut river,  and  of  Itich  other  pointit  of  naid  boundary  a«  tiiey 
may  deem  proper  '^ 

Here  the  quebtion  may  be  repeated,  has  Nova  Scotia  two 
northwest  anglen?  or  an  ideal  one,  placed  where  the  ''  cupidity" 
or  the  interested  views  of  either  party  may  dictate?  or  i»  the 
northwe&t  angle  of  Nova  Scotia,  the  northwest  angle  of  Nuva 
Scotia  as  etitablit^hed  by  the  Crown  and  Government  of  Great 
Britain,  adopted  by  the  treaty  of  1 783,  and  recognized  in  the 
discussioni)  by  the  Agents  under  the  fifth  article  of  the  treaty 
of  1 794,  and  also  recognized  by  all  subsequent  discussions  be- 
tween the  United  States  and  Great  Britain?  It  cannot  be  rea- 
sonably supposed,  that  the  Commissioners  had  any  other  anj^le 
in  view,  CHpecially  as  the  article  seems  to  recognize  and  place 
the  location  of  the  angle  on  the  construction  of  the  treaty  of 
1783,  explained  as  it  was  by  the  treaty  of  1794,  and  the  dis- 
cussions under  that  treaty.     It  cannot  be  supposed  that  the 
British  Commissioners  expected  to  gain,  that  which  they  had 
requested   as  a  cession,  or  the  American  Commissioners  ex- 
pected to  lose  any  thing  which  they  had  denied,  from  the  lan- 
guage used  and  references  made  in  the  article  above  quoted; 
but  It  is  to  be  supposed,  that  both  parties,  in  agreeing  to  the 
article,  limited  to  the  description  in  the  treaty  of  1783,  as  the 
same  had  been  defined  and  the  rights  of  the  parties  under  it 
had  been  explained  by  direct  and  implied  acknowledgments 
of  its  true  construction,  from  the  time  of  its  adoption,  intend- 
ed simply  to  provide  for  the  survey  and  marking  of  the  line. 
No  other  conclusion  can  follow,  unless  it  be  supposed,  that  the 
hi^h  minded  and  honorable  men,  who  negotiated   the  treaty, 
did  on  the  one  part  resort  to  the  most  de^^picable  chicanery, 
and  the  other  to  a  gross  and  palpable  violation  of  the  power 
and  authority  to  them  delegated  ;  neither  of  which  can  be 
true.     It  follows  then,  that  to  fulfil  this  article,  nothing  more 
was  required,  than  to  survey  and  mark  tfie  lines,  and  that  the 
difficulties  which  could  arise,  if  any,  were  of  minor  conse- 
quence, not  involving  in  any  event,  but  a  trifling  extent  of  ter- 
ritory, and  of  little  importance  to  either  government,  and  by 
no  means  involving  the  title  to  the  intervening  territory  be- 
tween New  Brunswick   and   Quebec,  which   had   often   been 
soui^ht  as  a  cession,  to  secure  a  direct  communication,  and  as 
often  denied. 

If  the  Agents  and  Commissioners  of  the  two  governments 
have  departed  from  this  plain  and  natural  interpretation  of  the 
treaty,  they  must  h  ave  erred  from  causes  which  are  credita- 


i  i 


.:.!,., u,u,mjiraiimui 


mmmmmmmmmmm 


ble  to  neither.  If  a  Vine  were  to  be  established,  coritr(»ry  tOi 
this  obvious 'Construction,  it  is  to  be  t'oreseen,  that  the  ps^rty 
thus  deprived  of  its  rights,  would  imbibe  a  spirit  not  to  besub- 
dited,  and  whicii  would  seek  its  redress  whik>ever  it  could,  at 
any  sacrifice.  If  the  British  colonii^ts  were  to  be  governed  by. 
their  true  interests,  they  would  not  endeavor  to  acquire  ar»y 
thing  by  construction,  atrainst  the  true  and  common  sense  m- 
terpretation  of  all  the  treaties,  because  in  tiiat  they  would  .9- 
cover  the  germs  of  eternal  hostility. 

If,  in  the  prosecution  of  the  duMes  under  this  article,  the 
Agent  of  the  United  States  has  misconstrued  and  extended  it» 
application  beyond  its  plain  and  obvious  construction,  or  had 
not  a  clear  and  distinct  view  of  the  meaning  of  the  terms 
^'' highlands^ V/hich  divide  the  icaters^*^  in  the  treaty  of  1763,  or 
was  bewilder^^d  by  mountains,  or  mountain  ranges,  when  even  * 
mole  hills  ait  3Wdr  the  description  precisely,  if  they  do  "  df 
vide  the  waters  which  flow  into  the  river,  St.  Lawrence,  from 
those  which  fatl  into  the  Atlantic,"  and  if  the  British  Agent, 
in  the  prosecution  of  his  duties,  under  the  same  article,  has 
pretende' .  that  the  northwest  angle  of  Nova  Scotia  is  at  Mars 
hill,  and  that  the  line  of  the  United  States  runs  southwest- 
wardly  from  that  point,  when  the  tci  ritory  extending  north, 
no;-''iKwest,  west  and  south  west  wardly,  is  claimed  as  a  part  of 
the  ancient  province  of  Nova  Scotia,  thereby  destroyina;  the 
northwest  an^le  of  Nova  Sc<  .ia,  which  had  been  establi^lied 
by  a  series  of  acts  of  the  Brit'.bh  government,  and  acknowl- 
edged by  I  hem  to  this  time,  and  substituting  therefor,  a  south- 
west angle,  and,  if  from  the  course  so  absurd  and  preposterous 
in  itself,  ingenuity  should  obtain  a  temporary  triumph  ovek 
right,'a  question  will  arise,  growing  out  of  the  nature  of,  and 
the  organization  of  the  Stale  and  National  governments  ;  has 
the  United  States  any  constitutional  authority  to  cede  any  part 
of  an  independent  sovereignty  composing  one  of  its  members  ? 

•  The  Commissioners  of  tlie  United  States  who  negotiated  the 
treaty  of  Ghent,  uniformly  denied  the  right  of  cession,  but 
whether  they  founcfld  their  den*?.!  on  the  want  of  authority  in 
thr  instructions  given  them,  or  upon  the  Constitution  of  the 

•U»ited  States,  is  not  perfectly  clear;  if  upon  the  first,  they 
adopted  a  ricrht  course;  if  upon  the  last,  their  course  was  also 
right,  and  tber?  must  be  jierfect  harmony  of  opinion,  l)ecause 
eitVisr  principle  preserves  the  rights  of  the  individual  States. 
On  this  subject  it  may  beMmjioriantto  consider  the  object  and 
nature  of  the  association  of  the  Statcs,which  led  to  the  adoption 
of  the  Constitution. 

•  The  j^eneral  government,  which  had  originated  in  the  op- 
pression of  Greet  Britain  and  been  lustaiued  by  the  pressure 


30 

of  an  external  enemy,  and  had  carried  the  country  through 
the  Revolution,  when  peace  was  restored,  was  Ibuiitl  to  be  too 
feeble  fu-  any  valuable  purpose  to   the  States.     Its  inherent 
defects  had,  by  a   few  years  experience,  been  shewn,  and  the 
States  for  want  or*general  union  were  in  danger  of  degenera- 
ting and  falling  intu  anarchy,  and  of  becoming  a  prey  lo  each 
other,  or  any  foreign  fiation.      The  independent  sovereignties 
saw  the  necessity  of  associating  anew,  which  they  did,  and  in 
that  association  mutually  delegated  limited  parts  of  their  sove- 
reign power  for  the  greater  security  of  those  retained. 
'   As  in  the  first  confetjeration  mutual  defence  and  protection 
WPS  a  primary  object,  so  it  was,  in  the  last  confederation;  a 
mutual  protection,  not  limited  to  tiie  {tersonal  rights  of  individ- 
uals, but  extended  to  the  full  and  fiee  6;ierci»e  uf  the  whole 
sovereign  power,  not  delegated,  to  the  exteatof  tiie  territorial 
jurisdiction  of  the  State.     With  liiis  view  of  the  object  of  tiie 
donfederatiop ,  composed  as  it  was  of  independent  sovereignties, 
It  cannot  be  Siippohcd   that  they  ever  inteaded  to  give  lothe 
general  government  any  power  by  which  they  might  be  de- 
stroyed and  consolidated,  or  by  which  even  tiieir  rights  of 
sovereignty  and  jurisdiction  might  be  abridged.     It  has  never 
been  pretended  that  Congress  has  the  power  of  taking  frouj  one 
State  and  giving  to  another,or  to  incorporate  new  Slates  witliin 
the  limits  of  old  ones:  nor  has  h  ever  claimed    to  exeroise 
i^uch  a  power.      The  most  it  has  ever  done,  or  has  a  constitu- 
tional right  to  do,  has  been,  to  give  its  consent  to  the  compact 
made  between  the  parties  immediately  interested,  and  to  udaiit 
the  new  State  into  the  Union. 

V,  If  Congress  do  possess  the  oower  of  ceding  any  portion  of 
an  independent  State,  they  possess  a  power  to  breakdown  the 
State  sovereignties  by  which  they  were  created,  and  at  their 
pleasure  to  produce  a  consolidation  of  those  sovereignties  ;  a 
power  which  was  never  delegated  or  intended.  If,  thei'efore, 
the  Congress  of  the  United  States  atteaipt  to  exercise  such  a 
power,  the  State  thus  deprived  of,  or  limited  in  its  rights  of 
sovereignty,  must  submit,  or  enforce  its  rights. 

The  rigfits  of  protection  i ..  the  exer6i«e  of  the  sovereign 
power  of  the  Siato  are  equal,  whether  it  is  an  exterior  or  i::te- 
rior  State,  and  Congress  can  have  no  more  constitutional  right 
to  take  from  Maine  and  cede  to  New  Brunswick,  than  they 
have  to  take  from  Virginia  a  part  of  her  territory,  and  cede  it 
to  North  Carolina-  Congress  has  not  claimed  to  exercise  such 
a  power,  for  tlie  construction  of  the  treaty  of  Ghent  herein 
before  given  does  r:>t  involve  such  a  power,  unless  frjin  a 
niisconst  ruction  oi'  its  provisions,  limiting  as  it  does  the  whole 
power  of  th«  commisj^on  to  the  surveying  and  marking  of  the 


I.  . 


V-^J.. 


I  »#»      *     I 


'-■'fyf 


n 


^1^ 


w^^^wasrrwmnafmmamaaassa 


40 


II 


f  ■ 


lines,  and  erecting  its  monuments,  according  to  the  treaty  of 
1783. 

But,  it  will  at  once  be  seen,  if  the  government  of  the  United 
States  yield  to  the  miiicc  nstructions  of  the  agents,  so  far  as  to 
be  endangered  by  the  result,  that  by  the  illisconstructions  of 
the  one  and  the  ingenuity  of  the  other,  arising  from  a  strong 
desire  to  acquire  for  bis  country  the  territory  which  had  been 
so  often  but  unsuccessfully  sought  as  a  cession,  and  by  its  final 
result  the  lines  of  the  State  of  Maine  are  materially  changed, 
she  will  be  as  much  dispossessed  of  her  territory  and  sove- 
reignty, as  she  would  have  been  oy  a  direct  exercise  of  the 
power  of  cession.  The  one  mode  equally  with  the  other  in- 
volves an  assumption  of  power  which  was  never  delegated. 
If  such  an  unfortunate  occyrrence  ever  arises,  from  any  eaustU; 
the  duty  which  thF>  State  owes  herself  and  her  sister  republics 
is  plain. 

While  it  is  the  duty,  as  well  as  the  interest,  of  individu-* 
als,  Z6  well  as  States,  to  yield  a  peaceable  and  quiet  obedience 
to  every  exercise  of  constitutional  power  on  the  part  of  the 
govern  ment  of  the  Unite</  States,  It  is  equally  their  duty,  and 
their  interest  to  resist  all  encroachments  on  the  rights  which 
they  have  reserved.  If  a  part  of  the  State  of  Maine  should  be 
sifrrendered  by  thego^  .nment  of  the  United  States,  either  by 
a  direct  or  indirect  exercise  of  the  power  of  cession,  it  will 
then  be  a  duty  which  she  owes  herself,  to  consider,  whether 
she  has,  by  such  an  invasion  of  her  rights,  lost  her  right  of 
sovereignty  and  jurisdiction.  Suv  i  an  exercise  of  power  caa 
have  no  obligatory  force,  and  unless  Maine  quietly  and  peace- 
ably submits,  it  will  be  tiie  duty  of  the  States;  a  duty  inposed 
by  the  Federal  Government,  to  afford  her  aid  and  protection, 
and  to  aid  her  in  regaining  her  rights.  u 

From  the  provisional  treaty  of  peace  in  1782  to  the  treaty 
of  Ghent,  for  a  period  of  more  than  thirty-two  years,  the 
British  always  conceded  our  title  and  our  rights,  whenever 
the  subject  was  presented  in  the  discussions  between  them  and 
the  United  States.  Even  in  the  argument  of  the  British 
Agent  under  the  fourth  article  of  the  treaty  of  Ghent,  deli- 
vered before  tlie  Commissioners  in  September  1817,  after  the 
Board  under  the  fifth  article  of  the  same  treaty,  and  the  agents 
had  made  their  agreemciit  for  a  survey,  he  unequivocally  ad- 
mits and  shows  our  title.  He  says,  "That  the  northwest  an- 
gle f  Nova  Scotia  mentioned  in  the  treaty  as  the  commencing 
point  in  the  boundary  uf  the  United  States  is  the  northwest 
angle  of  the  said  Province  of  Nova  Scotia,  designated  in  the 
grant  to  Sir  William  Alexander  in  l62l,  subject  only  to  such 
alteration  as  was  occasioned  by  the  erection  of  the  Pro- 
vince of  Quebec,  1763," 


4i 

Since  the  treaty  of  Ghent  and  the  entire  failure  on  the  part 
of  the  British  to  obtain  the  territory  by  cession  or  purchase, 
and  since  September,  1817,  they  lave  pretended  to  claim  it 
as  a  right,  and  do,  in  fact,  pretend  to  claim  a  much  greater 
extent  than  they  had  ever  sought  by  way  of  cession,  by  extend- 
ing the  claim  much  further,  south  and  west,  than  is  necessary 
to  secure  a  communication  between  Halifax  and  Quebec. 

The  idea  of  claim,  as  they  at  present  make  it,  probably  orig-  ^ 
inated  with  some  of  their  subjects  in  the  provinces,  who,  hav- 
ing a  great  desire  to  hold  the  country,  endeavored  to  stimulate 
the  government  of  Great  Britain,  that  she  might,  by  some 
means,  be  induced  to  obtain  it.  In  order  to  show  the  origin  as :  j 
well  as  the  substance  of  their  claim,  dm  they  now  make  it,  the 
following  extract  is  made  from  a  work  published  a  little  before  . 
the  organization  of  the  commission  under  the  fifth  article  of  the 
treaty  of  Ghent,,  entitled  "A  topographical  description  of  the 
Province  of  Lower  Canada,  with  remarks  upon  Upper  Canada, 
and  on  the  relative  connexion  of  both  Provinces  with  the  IJ. 
States  of  America,  by  Joseph  Bouchette,  Surveyor  General  of 
Lower  Canada,  Col.  C.  M  V  This  work  was  dedicated  to  the 
present  King,  George  i  ^  ^  Prince  Regent,  and  was  accom- 
nied  with  aplendid  mapi^.  Col.  Bouchette  was  attached  to  the 
commission  under  the  fifth  article  of  the  treaty  of  Ghent,  at 
the  commencement,  as  principal  surveyor  on  the  part  of^the 
British. 

He  says,  ^<  the  height  of  land  on  which  the  boundr'v  is 
supposed  to  pass,  runs  to  the  notheast  and  divides  the  waters 
that  fall  into  the  St.  Lawrence  from  those  flowing  into  the 
Atlantic,  and  vrhich  height  after  running  some  diistance  upon 
that  course  sends  off  a  branch  to  the  eastward,  that  separates 
the  head  of  the  Thames  falling  into  Lake  Temiscouata  and 
river  St.  John,  and  by  that  channel  into  tiie  bay  of  Fundy 
from  those  that  descend  in  a  more  jJ'rfct  course  to  the  At- 
lantic. ^ 

"The  main  ridge  continuing  u'  •»  -heasterly  direction  is 
intersected  by  an  imaginary  line,  ^.  ^^  .it?  cd  in  a  course  astro- 
nomically due  north  from  the  head  oi  !  »  river  St.  Croix,  and 
which  ridge  is  supposed  to  be  the  boundary  between  Lower , 
Canada  and  the  United  States;  at  least  such  appears  to  be  the 
way  in  which  the  treaty  of  1783  is  construed  by  the  Amerit-an 
Governm«»nt,  but  which  ought  to  be  more  fairly  understood  as 
follows  to  wit :  That  the  astronomical  line  running  north  from 
the  St.  Croix  should  extend  only  to  the  first  easterly  ridge, 
and  thence  run  westerly  along  t^  ?  crest  of  the  said  ridge  to  the 
Connecticut,  thereby  cquitabl'^^  dividing  the  wa^ors  flowing 
into  the  St.  Lawrence  from  thoH-  <  iat  empty  into  the  Atlantic, 


'>. 


42 


within  the  limits  of  the  United  States,  and  those  that  have 
their  streams  within  the  firitish  province  of  New  Brunswick. 
It  is  important  and  must  always  have  been  in  contemplation, 
that  an  uninterrupted  communication  and  connexion  should 
exist  between  all  his  Majesty's  North  American  possessions; 
but  by  the  manner  in  which  the  treaty  is  insisted  upon  by  the 
opposite  party,  a  space  of  more  than  eighty-five  miles  would 
be  placed  within  the  American  limits,  by  which  the  British 
provinces  would  be  completely  secured;  it  would  also  prove 
the  inconvenience  of  having  the  mail,  from  England  to  Que- 
bec, carried  over  that  diiitance  of  American  territory,  and 
which  may  be  deemed  either  a  matter  of  indulgence  or  com- 
plained of  IS  an  encroachment,  according  to  the  transfer  of 
the  times.  Within  this  tract  is  also  the  Madawaska  settle- 
ment, consisting  of  nearly  tfvo  hundred  families  all  holding 
their  grants  from  the  British  Government.  England  at  all 
times  high  minded  and  generous  never  shrinks  from  the  ful- 
filment of  her  engagements  even  though  from  the  want  ;  po- 
litical acutefiess  in  the  persons  employed,  they  may  have  ■':  ' 
formed  in  a  manner  prejudicial  to  her  mterests.  But  at  vu.\ 
same  time  she  has  a  right  to  require  that  the  interpretation  of 
them  should  not  be  overstrained  or  twisted  from  the  obvious 
meaning  and  intent,  by  a  grasping  cupidity  after  a  few  miles  of 
country  which  could  be  of  little  advantage  to  the  opposite 
party." 

The  above  extract  has  been  made,  because  it  shews  the 
whole  of  the  British  claim  as  they  have  since  made  it,  as 
well  a^^  the  substance  of  all  the  arguments  they  have  urged 
in  its  support ;  all  which  has  since  been  done  by  them, 
whether  in  making  surveys,  collecting  documents,  or  making 
arguments,  for  a  period  of  more  than  hve  years,  has  not  placed 
their  pretensions  in  a  stronger  light.  If  subsequent  occur- 
rences have  given  their  claim  any  additional  plausibility,  it 
can  only  be  attributed  to  the  Agents  having  transgressed  the 
authority  given  them  by  the  treaty,  and  discussed  a  claim 
5  which  was  not  submitted.  Here  it  is  wholly  unnecessary  to 
'repeat  the  facts  and  documents  herein  before  quoted  or  refer- 
red to — a  mere  recurrence  to  them  and  placing  them  in  op- 
position to  the  British  argument,  shows,  to  use  no  harsher 
term,  its  total  absurdity. 

i  The  argument  seems  to  be  addressed  to  the  pride  of  the 
British,  and  vanity  of  the  Americans  — As  it  relates  to  the 
British,  the  argument  has  had  its  effect,  but  as  it  relates  to  the 
Americans,  it  has  been  a  little  too  gross  to  deceive.  If  the  dis- 
covery had  been  made  more  seasonably,  it  might  have  acquir- 
ed a  temporary  appearance  of  plausibility,  but  when  the  suh- 


.i' 


^y^ 


43 

ject  had  comb  before  Parliament  and  had  also  been  under  dU> 
cussion  by  the  CuinniUbioncrs  and  Agents  of  tlie  two  govern- 
I  inents,  and  la-st  of  all,  when  the  Brititih  Commissioners   had 

p6r^everingly  sought  the  territory,  in  every  form  as  a  cession, 
from  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-two  to  eighteen  hundred 
and  fourteen,  a  period  of  thirty  two  years,  the  argument  is  not 
calculated  to  deceive,  and  ill  accordis  with  a  character  always 
*'  high-minded  and  generous,  and  which  never  shrinlcs  from  the  ful- 
Jilment  of  its  engagements.''^ 

The  territory,  from  all  our  researches  never  has  been  claim- 
ed as  a  right  by  the  British  government  or  any  of  its  Commis- 
sioners or  Agents,  until  1817,  after  the  Commissioner  under 
the  fifth  article  of  the  treaty  of  Ghent  was  organized  ;  .but  on 
the  contrary,  as  has  been  before  shewn,  the  right  has  always 
been  conceded  to  be  in  the  Onited  States.  Now  theii'  claim, 
stripped  of  its  verbiage,  and  translated  into  plain  language, 
rests  on  this  plain  and  simple  proposition — the  country  lies  be- 
tween two  of  our  provinces,  it  will  be  meful  tons,  not  only  by 
facilitating  communication,  but  it  is  important  also  in  a  milita- 
ry point  of  view — we  could  not  ebt«ir»  it  by  cession,  though 
we  were  willing  to  give  an  equivalent,  but  we  want  it,  and  we 
will  have  it. 

The  State  of  Massachusetts  considering  her  right  of  sove- 
reignty and  jurisdiction  co-extensive  with  her  title,  did  not  an- 
ticipate any  disturbance  or  intrusion,  and  di^^  not  consider  her- 
self under  any  necessity  of  cultivating  her  whole  territory,  or 
of  keeping  up  a  military  force  for  its  protection,  relying  upon 
the  good  faith  which  had  appeared  to  manifest  itself  on  the 
part  of  the  British  in  the  negotiations  and  discussions  between 
them  and  the  United  States,  and  presuming  also  that  the  Brit- 
ish, whenever  they  were  found  to  have  crossed  her  lines,  would 
disavow  the  act  and  restore  the  country — she  had  from  time 
to  time  made  grants  of  her  unappropriated  lands,  as  the  same 
were  sought  for  public  and  private  purposes.  She  early 
granted  Mars  hill  to  some  of  the  soldiers  of  the  revolution. 
In  Sept.  1806,  Massachusetts  conveyed  two  half  townships, 
one  to  Deerfield  and  the  other  to  Westfield  Academies,  lying 
west  of  the  township  of  Mars  hill,  pursuant  to  a  survey  and 
plan  made  in  conformity  with  the  provisions  of  a  resolve  which 
had  passed  some  time  before.  In  Dec.  1007,  she  conveyed  one 
township  lying  on  both  sides  of  the  Aroostook  and  near  the 
meridian  line,  from  the  source  of  the  St.  Croix,  according  to 
a  selection,  survey  and  plan,  made  under  a  resolve  passed  in 
March,  1806.  In  JanuarVi  1 808,  she  conveyed  ten  thousand 
acres  lying  we«t  of  the  aforesaid  township,  and  on  both  sides 
of  the  Aroostook,  pursuant  to  a  survey  and  plan  made  under 
a  resolve  of  March,  1806.     Had  the  residue  of  territory  been 


ill  ;   * 


;l 


'■■'.n,.,aii'j»,iiM 


I 

applied  for,  she  wniHd  have  continued  granting  it,  'a  1arg« 
or  small  tractis,  until  she  had  granted  the  whole,  provided  tL« 
object  of  the  grants  had  met  her  approbation.  Hence  she 
not  only  exercised  sovereign  power  co-extensive  with  her  title, 
but  also  individual  acts  ofsovereignty,  and  to  what  extent  she 
pleased. 

The  restrictive  system  adopted  by  the  government  of  the 
United  States,  commencing  about  this  period,  checked  the  gen- 
eral  business  of  tiie  country,  and  at  the  same  time  allayed  the 
spirit  of  improvement  and  settlement,  and  entirely  put  a  stop 
to  speculations  in  wild  lands,  and  there  being  no  more  appli- 
cations for  grants  of  wild  lands,  she  had  no  occasion  to  make 
them.  The  war  succeeded,  which  still  further  checked  the 
progress  of  improvement  and  settlement,  and  several  years  were 
required  to  recover  from  the  diversions  occasioned  by  it;  hence 
from  a  coincidence  of  circumstances  no  grants  were  made. 

Entertaining  no  suspicion  that  any  clumi  would  be  made  by 
the  British,  or  discussed  by  the  agents,  inconsistent  with  every 
thing  which  had  transpired,  and  Pspecially  in  all  the  correspond- 
ence which  had  preceded,  and  in  the  treaty  of  Ghent  itself,  she 
could  have  had  no  reason  to  presume  that  claims  would  be  made 
and  urged,  which  could  infringe  her  rights  of  soverignty  and 
jurisdiction.  Hence  she  reposed  in  peifect  confidence,  that  the 
lines  would  be  run  and  marked,  and  monuments  erected  accord- 
ing to  her  title,  as  it  had  always  been  understood  by  her,  and 
conceded  by  the  British,  and  therefore  made  no  inquires  to 
ascertain  the  claims  urged,  or  the  progress  of  the  Commission.—- 
In  1819  she  passed  the  act  of  separation  between  her  and  the 
district  of  Maine,  which  was  approved  by  Congress  tbe|  nex 
session,  and  Maine  was  admitted  into  the  union  as  an  Independ- 
ent State — By  the  act  of  separation  Massachusetts  retained  the 
fee  simple  of  a  moiety  of  the  Wild  lands,  but  the  residue,  &.A 
the  entire  sovereignty  and  jurisdiction  was  vested  in  Maine. — 
JMaine  having  thus  bec«.  ,e  an  Independent  State,  and  more 
than  three  years  having  elapsed  after  the  organization  of  the 
commission  und«*r  the  fifth  article  of  the  treaty  of  Ghent,  a  time 
more  than  sufficient,  to  have  performed  all  which  was  submitted 
and  there  being  reports  that  the  British  agent  was  vigilant,  and 
the  American  remiss,  and  that  surveys,  were  going  on  in  quar- 
ters wholly  unanticipated,  «he  of  course  became  anxious,  and 
bud  reason  to  fear  the  subject  was  taking  a  direction  never  in 
the  contemplation  of  the  commissioners  who  negotiated,  or  irt- 
volved  in  the  treaty  itself.  The  Governor  of  the  State  noticed 
the  snbject,  in  the  first  message  which  was  delivered  June  2d 
1820,  to  both  branches  of  the  Legislature.  He  says,  "What 
progress  has    been  made  under  the  fifth  article  of  the  British 


V- 


u 


,.A 


treaty  in  settling  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  State  against  the 
province  of  New-Bi'unswick,  and  the  northern  boundary  against 
that  of  lower  Canada,  lam  unable  to  inform  you.  An  this 
State  and  Massachusetts  have  so  deep  an  interest  in  the  settle- 
ment of  these  boundaries,  there  would  seem  to  have  been  a  pro- 
priety in  the  agent  appointed  on  the  part  of  the  United  States, 
being  taken  from  one  of  these  two  States.  But  under  existing 
circumstances  you  will  consider  vhether  the  interest  of  the 
Stale  does  not  require  from  you  the  adoption  of  such  arrange- 
ments as  are  best  calculated  to  afford  the  present  agent  such  in- 
formation in  relation  to  this  important  subject  as  the  people  in 
this  State  have  it  in  their  power  to  give." 

Tlie  Message  was  answered  on  the  12th  June  1820  where  in  it 
was  ainonju;  other  things  Resolved  "That  the  Governo.  of  this 
Stale  be  requested  to  transmit  to  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  a  copy  of  the  Resolve,  accompanied  with  such  represen- 
tations in  relation  to  this  subject,  as  he  shall  think  proper  and 
best  calculated  to  effect  the  object."  The  request  was  complied 
with  by  the  Governor,  who  in  July,  1820  transmitted  a  copy  of 
the  resolve  to  the  President,  and  among  other  things  observed 
to  him  "  When  it  is  considered  that  Massachnsetts  and  Maine 
have  the  right  of  soil,  that  Maine  has  also  a  State  jurisdiction, 
that  the  people  here  have  not  the  honor  of  an  acquaintance 
either  with  the  Commissioner  or  agent,  and  have  not  been  advis- 
ed of  any  reason  for  the  delay  to  the  present  time  it  will  not  be 
considered  a  matter  of  surprise  that  their  extreme  solicitude 
should  be  such  as  to  render  desirable,  information  on  a  subject 
so  generally  interesting." 

It  is  not  unknown  to  the  people  of  this  state  that  the  British 
agent  has  been  very  attentive  to  the  busines  in  w  hich  he  has  been 
engaged,  and  that  he  has  caused  the  country  near  the  lines  to  be 
examined  and  explored  in  the  most  particular  manner  ;  while  it 
is  not  understood  that  comparatively  any  thing  has  been  done; 
on  the  p!?rt  of  the  American  Agent.  With  impressions  such  as 
these,  the  boundary  being  au  extensive  one  it  would  be  highly 
satisfactory  to  people  of  this  State  should  it  comport  with  the 
views  of  the  executive  of  the  United  States,  to  designate  a  per- 
son to  assist  the  present  agent  in  his  important  duties,  that  the 
boundary  may  not  only  be  more  expeditiously,  but  more  satis- 
torily  adjusted." 

The  substance  of  the  reply  which  was  made  appeared  in  t)ie 
next  message  of  the  Governor. 

This  year,  in  the  exercise  ofthoir  general  powers  of  sovereign- 
ty and  jurisdiction,  the  Marshall  of  Maine,  under  a  law  of  the 
United  States,  took  the  census  of  the  inhabitants  settled  on  the 


I" 


"mCBBSBBi 


4/d 

St.  John  river  and  iu  tributary  streams  west  of  the  Meridian  linft 
from  the  monument  at  the  source  of  the  Saint  Croix,  and  lh« 
south  line  of  the  province  of  Quebec,  or  Lower  Canada. 

In  the  autumn  of  the  year  of  1820,  an  agent  was  sent  by  the 
Governor  and  council  to  explore  the  public  lauds  upott  tlie  St. 
John  and  its  brai)che.s  west  of  the  meridian  line  from  the  mon- 
ument, which  service  he  performed.  \ 

The  Governor  again  iri  his  message,  which  was  delivered  .Ian- 
nary  11,  1821  to  both  branches  of  the  Legislature,  called  their 
attention  to  the  subject  of  the  preservation  of  the  timber  on  the 
public  lands,  and  after  enumerating  several  places  as  the  scenes 
of  depredations,  says,  "  it  appears  that  trespasses  within  our 
ftcknowledged  territory,  pariicularly  on  the  rivers  Oroostook, 
De  Chute,  Presquille  and  Meduxnekeag,  committed  by  persons 
residing  in  the  British  provinces  are  very  great  accordingly,  ar- 
rangements have  lately  b«en  adopted  with  a  view  to  prevent  such 
predatory  incursions  in  future." 

He  also  states  that  he  forwarded  the  Resolve  of  the  prior  ses- 
sion of  the  Legislature  to  the  President,  and  Secretary,  transmit- 
ted a  copy  of  the  same  to  the  American  Commissioners,  who  io 
reply  "  gave  a  reasonable  ground  of  expectation  that  the  6nal  de- 
cision of  the  points  in  controversy  respecting  those  lines  would 
have  been  made  in  October  last. — And  from  information  obtain- 
ed from  other  sources,  adds-~"All  reasonable  hope  of  a  speedy 
adjustment  seems  therefore  to  have  vanished.^' 

The  Governor  after  having  received  information  that  Brit- 
ish subjects  were  trespassing  on  the  timber  lands  of  Maine  and 
Massachusetts  on  the  Oroostook,  appointed  Benjamin  J.  Porter^ 
Esquire  with  the  udvice  of  coiincil  to  proceed  immediately  to 
that  place,  and  to  notify  the  persons  whom  he  should  find  tres- 
passing on  the  timber  lands  aforesaid  west  of  the  line  which  had 
been  run  by  order  of  the  Commissioners  appointed  by  the  Uni- 
ted States  and  Great  Britain  from  the  monument  at  the  source 
of  the  St.  Craix  to  the  line  of  the  provinceof  lower  Canada,  that 
if  they  would  pay  a  proper  consideration  for  the  timber  they  had 
cut,  and  desist  from  any  further  depredation  on  that  part  of  onr 
territory,  he  was  Quthorixei  to  settle  with  them  otr  those  prkici^- 
ples — but  if  they  declined,  he  was  directed  to  proceed  to  Houl- 
ton  plantation  an(i  adopt  the  necessary  mensures,  and  obtain  such 
assistance  as  in  his  judgment  vould  be  required,  to  take  the 
trespassers  and  their  teams  and  bring  them  to  Houlton  plani^a- 
tion,  and  there  keep  them  until  the  Executive  could  be  advised 
of  the  measures  adopted. 

The  agent   thus  appointed  and  instructed  proceeded  to  the 
Aroostook,  sod  foNnd  British  subjects    tresp«sni>g    tbdre,  with 


J  '-t   ^''•'■■vl 


47 


to  the 
wtlh 


whom  he  settled,  and  received  also  the  assiiran«(?s  required,  that 
they  would  nut  return,  and  would  desist  from  cutting  the  tim- 
ber. 

The  efforts  thus  far  made,  not  having  produced  the   intended 
results,  the  Legislature,  January  16,  1822,  passed  a    resolve  re- 
questing the  Senators  and  Representatives  of  this    State  in  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States,  to  collect  information  touching  the 
causes  of  the  differences  between  the  American  and  British  Com-  ' 
missioners  under  the  treaty  of  Ghent  respecting  the   boundary 
line,  between  this  Slate  and  the  British  provinces  of  lower  Cana- 
da and  Nova  Scotia,  and  the  extent  and  nature  of  the  claims  set 
up  by  the  said  British    Commissioners,     The  resolve    was  duly  "^ 
cummnnicated.     No  progress  was   however  made  and  the  ob- 
ject of  the  ResoJve  was  not  answered.      In  February  1822,  an 
ap^ent  was  appointed  with  full  power  to  prevent  trespassing  upon 
the  timber  in  the  public  lands,  on  the  Oroostook,  Maduxnekea§^ 
and  Presquilla  rivers  and  their  branches  West  of  the  meridian  line 
from  the  monument,  and  he  entered  immediately  upon  the  duties 
of  his  agency  and  visited  the  places  required,  and  accomplished 
the  objects  of  his  appointment.     The  subject  is  again  recured  to 
Jan.  10,  1824  by  the  Governor  in  his  message,  which  led   to  no 
specific  act  on  the   part  of  the   Legislature — Jan.  7,   1825,  tho 
Governor  again  callii  the  attention  of  the  Legislature  to  the  sub- 
ject of  toe  Northeastern  boundary,  stating  also  that  he  had  under- 
stood from  respectable  soui'ces,  that  depredations  had  been  com- 
mitted on  our  timber  lands,, on  the  Oroostook    and    IVladawaska 
alid  olbei*  streams  emptying  into  th^  St.  John  ;  and  i\iat  unless 
energetic  measures  are  speedily  ac'iopted  on  the  part  of  the  State, 
our  valuable  timber  in  tb^t  region  will  be    soon  destroyed;  and 
that  from  the  representations,  the  depredations  were  committed 
by  British  subjects. 

v'This  led  to  an  investigation  as  far  as  the  limited  means  posses- 
sed by  the  Government  of  this  State  permitted,  and  a  resolve  pas- 
sed Jan.  24,  1825,  among  other  things  requesting  the  Governor 
of  this  State  to  correspond  with  the  Governor  of  the  province  of 
New-Brunswick  relative  to  the  depredations  which  had  been 
committed  by  British  subjects  on  the  timber  on  the  public  lands 
of  this  State,  west  of  the  boundary  Hne  between  this  State  and 
the  province  of  New-Brunswick,  as  heretofore  recognized;  and 
to  ascertain  Whether  that  government  had  authorized  any  persons 
to  cut  timber  upoD  these  lands  or  to  settle  thereon. 

The  land  agent  of  Maine  was  instructed  in  conjunction  with 
such  person  as  should  be  designated  by  Massachusetts,  or  if  none 
should  be  appointed,  without  that  agent,  forthwith  to  take  effec- 
tual measures  to  ascertain  the  extent  of  the  depredations  on  the 
lands  belonging  to  this  State  and  Massachusetts,  or  on  lands  be- 


'Vr 


m 


■  R 

ill 


1 1 


48 

longing  to  this  State  ;  by  whom  the  same  linve  been  committed, 
and  under  what  authority,  it'  any,  such  depredatiuns  were  com- 
mitted. 

The  Governor  was  also  requested  to  forward  each  of  the  Sen- 
ators and  Representatives  in  Congress  from  fhis  slate  a  copy  of 
the  report  oflhe  Committee  on  the  p;ut  of  the  Governor's  Me8-^\ 
sage  relative  to  depredations  on  the  public  lands,  and  of  the  Re- 
solves, and  also  to  request  ihem  to  take  the  necessary  measures 
to  obtain  an  early  adjustment  of  the  JN or theasteru  boundary  of 
this  State. 

The  Governor  enclosed  and  forwarded  the  same  on  the  25th 
of  January  1825.  During  the  same  session  of  the  LeiJ^islature, 
February  22d,  1825,  they  passed  a  Resolve  respecting  the  set- 
tlers on  the  St.  John  and  lyiadawaska  rivers.  "  Whereas  there 
are  a  number  of  settlers  on  the  undivided  public  lands  on  the  St. 
John  and  Madawaska  Rivers,  many  of  whom  have  resided  there- 
on for  more  than  thirty  years ;  therefore  resolved,  That  the  land 
agent  of  this  State,  in  conjunction  with  such  agent  as  may  be  ap- 
pointed for  that  purpose,  on  the  part  of  Massachusetts,  be, 
and  he  is  hereby  atithorized  and  directed  to  make  and  execute 
good  and  sufficient  deeds,  conveying  to  such  settlers  in  actual 
possession,  as  aforesaid,  their  heirs  and  assiens,  one  hundred 
acres  each,  of  land,  by  them  possessed,  to  include  the  improve- 
ments on  their  respective  lots,  they  paying  the  said  agent  for  the 
use  of  the  State,  five  dollars  each,  and  the  expense  of  surveying 
the  same. 

The  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts,  June  11,  1825,  did 
provide  by  Resolve  among  other  things — "  Whereas  there  are  a 
number  of  settlers  on  the  St,  John  and  Madawaska  rivers,  many 
of  whom  have  resided  there  more  than  thirty  years,  therefore  re- 
solved, That  the  land  agent  of  this  Commouwealth  in  conjunc- 
tion '^ith  such  agent  has  been  or  may  be  appointed  for  that  pur- 
pose on  the  part  of  the  State  of  Maine,  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby 
authorized  and  directed  to  make  good  and  sufficient  deeds,  con- 
veying tc  such  settlers  in  actual  possession  as  aforesaid,their  heirs 
and  assigns,  one  hundred  acres  each  of  land  by  them  possessed 
to  include  their  improvements  on  their  respective  lots,  they  pay- 
ing to  the  said  agent,  for  the  use  of  this*  Commonwealth  five  dol- 
lars each,    and  the  expense  of  surveying  the  same." 

The  agents  thus  authorized  did  in  the  autumn  of  that  year 
proceed  up  the  St.  John  to  the  Madawaska  settlement,  and 
thence  to  the  mouth  of  the  Maryumpticook,  and  surveyed,  and 
conveyed,  two  lots  of  land,  on  the  3d  of  October,  to  John  Ba- 
ker and  James  Bacon,  citizens  of  this  State.  They  had  settled 
above   the   French   neutrals  on  the   St.  John  and  its  waters ; 


\r, 


49 


and  at  the  time  wlien  the  set  lements  on  the  lots  were  commen- 
ced, there  was  no  settlement  within  several  miles  of  them.  They 
also  posted  up  notices,  stating  their  authority,  and  proposing  to 
give  deeds,  according  to  the  Resolves  under  which  they  acted. 

This  year  Maine  and  Massachusetts,  in  continuing  their  sur- 
veys of  the  undivided  lands,  surveyed  all  which  had  not  been 
previously  done,  and  conveyed  two  ranges  of  townships  on  the 
meridian  line  running  north  from  the  Monument  at  the  source 
of  the  St.  Croix,  and  above  Mars  Hill,  to  a  place  within  a  few 
miles  of  the  river  St.  John.  The  two  grants  of  Massachusetts 
made  in  December  1807,  to  the  town  of  Plymouth,  and  in  Jan. 
1808,  to  William  Eaton,  on  the  river  Aroostook,  according  to 
surveys  made  in  1807,  compose  a  part  of  the  ranges. 

In  a  letter  bearing  date  May  23,  1825,  from  the  British  min- 
ister at  Washington  to  the  Secretary  of  State  of  the  U.  States, 
in  answer  to  hjs  of  the  27th  March  preceding,  complaining  of 
the  encroachments  of  the  inhabitants  of  New  Brunswick,  com- 
mitted upon' lands  of  Maine  and  Massachusetts,  in  cutting  and 
carrying  away  timber  within  the  boundaries  of  those  States — and 
the  places  where  the  trespasses  were  committed  were  also  des- 
cribed in  the  accompanying  papers,  to  be  on  the  Aroostook  and 
Madawaskf  rivers.  '" 

The  British  Minister  in  reply,  states,  that  he  had  made  xaJ 
quiries  of  Sir  Howard  Douglass,  the  Governor  of  New  Bruns* 
wick,  and  had  been  assured  by  him,  that  the  charge,  as  far  as  the 
Government  of  the  provinces  was  concerned,  was  unfounded, 
and  that  he  should  use  his  best  endeavors  to  put  a  stop  to  prac- 
tices in  themselves  so  disgraceful.  It  was  further  stated  by  Sir 
Howard,  "that  in  assuming. the  Government  of  New  Bruns- 
wick, he  found  that  licences  to  cut  timber,  and  other  acts  of 
sovereignty,  had  long  been  exercised  on  the  part  of  Great  Bri- 
tain over  certain  tracts  of  land  in  which  the  Bestook,'*  (Aroos- 
took) "  and  Madavvaska  were  included,  heretofore  well  under- 
stood to  belong  to  New  Brunswick,  but  auhsequently  claimed  by 
the  Commissioner t  of  the  United  States  appointed  to  negotiatt 
tmth  the  British  Commissioners  for  adjusting  the  boundary  line 
of  the  respective  provinces  :  to  these  claims  no  disposition  was 
ever  shewn,  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain,  to  accede."  .^ 

It  is  not  supposed  that  Sir  Howard  intended  to  misrepresent 
facts,  because  it  would  be  entirely  inconsistent  with  the  honorable 
character  which  he  is  supposed  to  si.<stain  ;  but  atcquitted  of  that 
charge,  his  representations  must  be  attributed  to  ignorance  of  the 
subject,  ur  wao^t  of  research  into  the  premises.  Compare  the  his- 
tory of  the  negotiation  of  the  provisional  treaty  of  peace  in 
1782,  the  doings  of  the  Commissioners  under  the  fifth  article  tf 
7 


i; . 


It 


^mi 


50 


u*; 


■   'i 


i 

i  <   J 
( ■ 


'i 


the  treaty  ol'  1794 — more  especially  the  argument  of  the  British 
Dgerit,  aiid  all  the  correspondence  which  preceded  the  treaty  of 
Ghent,  wherein  the  British  (  ommissioners  so  often  and  so  re- 
peatedly ask  the  country,  in  which  the  Madnwaska  settlement 
IS  included  as  a  cession,  and  are  so  often  denied  by  the  Ameri-, 
can  Commissioners,  on  the  ground  that  they  possess  no  author*  ' 
ity  to  make  a  cession,  and  no  further  comment  is  necessary  to 
shew  the  fal&ity  of  his  representations. 

It  is  further  said  by  Sir  Howard  **  In  fact  by  a  reference  to 
documents  in  the  possession  of  the  British  Colonial  department  it 
appears  that  the  settlement  at  Madawaska  in  the  province  of  New 
Brunswick  was  made  under  a  grant  from  the  Crown  upwards  of 
thirty  years  ago,  so  late  as  the  year  1810  no  claim  had  been  ad- 
vanced by  the  United  States,  although  th<'  settlement  had  been 
established  at  the  time  for  upwards  of  twenty  years  under  a  grant 
from  the  Government  of  New  Brunswick  and  had  been  constantly 
designated  the  Madawaska  settlement." 

Admitting  the  fact,  as  to  the   antiquity  of  the  vettlement  to  be 
as  stated,  giving  the  utmost  extent  to  both  mod*>s  of  expression,!! 
commenced   under  grants   about  the  year    1790,  long  after  the 
treaty  of  1783.     Unless   the  grants  were  within  the  province  of 
Neva  Scotia,  they  were  intrusions  ;  that  they  were  not  within  the 
;^  ovince  abundantly  appears  from  all  the  documents  before  quot- 
iid  in  relation  to  the  boundaries.     No  valid  claim  of  national  sov- 
eteignty  can  be  based  on  such   acts  in  the  forum  of  honor,   con- 
science or  law.     And  no  jurisdiction  can,  with  any  seroblaoce  of 
propriety  be  claimed  beyond   the   actual   possession;   it   cannot 
without  violating  the  acknowledged  principles,   in  such  cases  be 
extended  by  construction.     If  such  were  the  facts  and  the  settle- 
ments had  been  made  as  early  as  1 790 — if  the  British   consider- 
ed that  they  had  any  claim  to  the  territory  on  that   account,  it  is 
extraordinary,  that  it  should  have    been  ttntirely   overlooked    by 
the  government,  its  ministers  and  commissioners,  and  never  have 
been  discovered  until  1817  or  since   that  time;  more  especially 
witen  the  treaty  of  1794  and  the  discussions   under  the   fidh  ar- 
ticle of  it  wherein  it  was  conceded  that  the   line  due  north  from 
tbe  source  of  the  St.    Croix,  wherever  it  should  be  established, 
crossed  the  St.  John,  to  the  line  uf  the  government  of  Quebec, 
and  by  a  reference  to  the  map   it  will  at  once    be  seen  that  had 
the  most  westerly  point  been  adopted  which   the   British  ageiii 
contended  for,  that  the  Madawaska  settlement  is  west  of  the  me- 
ridian and  at  all  events  within  the  United  States.     When  also  tbe 
subject  of  surveying  the  boundaries  had    been  discussed   on  sev- 
eral occasions  between  that  time  and  the  treaty  of  Ghent,  and 
when  also  during  the  whole  discussion  which  led  to  that  treaty  of 
Ghent,  the  territory  is  sought  as  a  cession  and  with  great  perse^ 


51 


uif^  ^M 


v^rance  by  a  resort  to  every  mode  which  circumstances  or  their 
own  ingenuity  suggeHted. 

But  the  facta  a»  stated  arc  not  admitted,  the  settlement  at  Mad- 
awaska  did  not  succeed,   but   had    preceded  many  years,   the 
grants  which  Sir  Howard  states,  and  thereforo  cannot  be  said  to  be 
made  under  the  grants.     The  settlement  was  made  principnUy  by 
French  neutrals,  whose  ancestors  bad  lived  near  the  bay  of  Fun- 
dy  previous  to  ihe  American  revolution.  They,  to  avoid  the  Bri- 
tish laws  moved  up  iheRiver  St  John  to  a  place  called  St.  Anns, 
now  Fredrickton.     After  the  close  of  the  war  when  the  British 
e^itablished  a  town    and  military   post  at  that   place  and  circum- 
scribed them  in  their  quarters,  stimulated  by  their  repugnance  to 
the  British,  and  desirouH  of  living  undt*'  their  own   regulations  — 
they  pursued  their   course   up  the    river  snd   established   them- 
selves at  Madajvaska  where  they  lived   many  years  probably  en- 
tirely unknown  to  the  world — Some   of  their  countrymen  joined 
them  from  Canada — If  the  s^ettlers   or  some  of  them  now  have 
grants  from  the  Province  of  New-Brunswick,  the  reason  for  mak- 
ing such  grants  does  uot  now  appear.     The  intention  of  the  Gov- 
ernment can  be   inferred  only,  from    the   facts   disclosed,   from 
which  it  most  clearly  follt}W!f,  that  they  did  not,  by  the  intrusion 
consider  themselves  as  extendihg  tht^ir  rights  of  property  or  ju- 
risdiction, not  having  stated  the  fact  for  that   purpose  until  long 
since  the   treaty  of  Ghent<     ^      he  fact  hod    been  relied  on   by 
them  as  giving  any  claim  the  ters  who  negotiated,  the  treaty 

of  Ghent,  while  they  were  endeavoring  by  every  means  in  their 
power  to  obtain  the  territory  in  which  the  Madawa^ka  settlement  is 
situated  by  cession,  would  not  have  been  guilty  of  the  omission. 
Sir  Howard  still  further  says  "  with  regard  to   the  timber  cut 
by  British  subjects   on  the  river  Bistook  (Aroostook)  the   very 
circuin^itance  of  its  having    been    seized  by  Mr.   Porter  of  the 
State  of  Maine  proves  that  the  inhabitants  of  that  state   consider 
themselves  as  at  full  liberty  to  appropriate  all  the  timber  in  that 
district  to  their  own  use.     In  truth  that  territory  is  especially  rep- 
resented bv  the  Senate  of  Maine  as  lying  within  the  acknowledged 
boundaries  of  that  State.     Nov/ this  is   notoriously  not  the  fact, 
the  British  Government  contend  that  the  northern  boundary  line 
of  the  United  States,  running    from  the  source   of  the   river   St. 
Croix  to  the  highlands  is    terminated  at  Mars   hill  which  lies  at 
the   southwest  of  the  Bistook   (Aroostook)  at  least  therefore  the 
British  territory  declared  to   be  the   undoubted  property  of  the 
State  of  Maine  is  but  a    point  in  abeyance.     Both  parties  claim 
and  it  appears  have  exercised  an  equal  right  over  it." 

That  the  British  pretended  any  claim  to  the  territory   to  the 
westward  of  the  meridian  line  from  the  source  of  the  St.   Croix 


52 


1*1 


i! 


and  southerljr  of  the  line  of  the   Province  of  Quebec  or  lower 

Canada  was  totally  unknown  to  the  United  States  unt<l  long  after 

tlie  treaty  of  Ghent  and  it  seems  to  havt  been  equally  unknown 

to  the  British.     The  observation  "  This  wus  notoriously  not  the 

fact"  can  only  apply  to  a  period  subsequent  to  the  treaty,   when 

it  had  been  deemed  proper  by  individuals,  and  the  subordinate 

agents  of  the  British  Government  to  acquire  by  some  meons  the 

territory  which  they  could  not  demand  as  a  right — The  above 

observation  does  not  appear  to  be  true,  from  any  thinpf,  which  had 

transpired  of  a  public  character,  between  the  American  and  British 

governmen  ,s. — Such  pk-etended  and  unfounded   claims  could  not 

have  bcsen,  and  were  not  anticipcited.     But  aft?r  all  the  preten- 

f  ions,  the  claim  ak.d  exercise  of  right,  he  jidmits  to  be  equal,  which 

is  extraordinary,  wh^^n  the  whole  is  taken  into   consideration  and 

conirasted  with  the  recent  origin  of  and  bold  assumptions  on  which 

they  are  founded. 

It  has  already  been  shewn,  that  Massachusetts  has  made  sev- 
eral grants  before  1808,  some  of  which  were  on  the  Aroostook 
near  the  meridian  line,  from  the  monument  at  the  source  of  the 
rw^er  3t.  Croix,  and  that   she   and    Maine,  had   in    addition  to 

•  tlieir  general  jurisdiction,  exerrisod  all   necessary   acts  of  par- 

•  tirular  jurisdiction.     And  the  British  subjects  found  there, com- 

'    jilting  depredations  on  the  timber,  by  Mr.  Porterj  were  there  as 
mere  trc  <       ers  not  claiming  any  right  or  authority  from   an> 
source,     i.  was  not  until  long  after  this  period,  that  any  per- 
sons  were  there    under  licences   from  the   Province   of  New- 
'     Brunswick,  which  caused    the  mention  of  it  in  the  Goveruor*s 
message  in  Jan.  1825.     The  Bruish  claim,  as  they  make    it,  is 
even  void  of  plausibility,  they  ought  not  to  h«*ve  claimed  the  ter- 
ritory upon  the  Bistook,  (Aroostook)  and   upper  part  of  the  St. 
John  a  id  its  tributary  streams,  s»s  a  part  of  the  ancient  province 
of  Nova  Scotia,  but  they  ought  to  have  continued  the  line  from 
Mars  hill,  eastward  to  the  Bay  of  Chuleurs,  and    have   insisted 
that  that  was  the  northern  line,  thereby  yie'ding  a   purt  of  Nova 
Scotia, and  have  left  the  upper  part  of  the  St.John  and  its  tributa- 
rie6,and  theRestigouche  river,in  the  province  of  Quebec  orLower 
Canada,  and  if  by  that  means,tliey  had  violated  one  of  their  favo- 
rite principles  of  exposition,  to  wit,  that  the  province  which  has 
the  mouth,  ought  also  to  have   the  sosircef  ol  the  river,  s»ill  (he 
;    whole  would  have  been  within  the  general  sovereignty  of  Great 
'     Britain,  one  province  only  gaining  more  than  the  other  lost ;  yet 
]     such  a  claim,  thoi]K,h  more  pliuisible,  by  relieving  them  from  the 
solecism  of  destroying  the  norlhwe«t  angle,  or  rather  converting 
the  northwest  angle  of  Nova  Scotia  into  a  southwest  angle,  which 
ean  only  be  arrived  at,  by  running  first  north  for  more  than  for- 


lower 
g  after 
iknown 
not  the 

when  \ 
rdin-ate 
ans  the 
» above 
ich  had 
I  British 
luld  not 
preten- 
I,  which 
tion  and 
n  which 

ade  sev- 
■oostook 
•  of  the 
dition  to 
of  par- 
ire,  com- 

there  as 
•onn  an> 
iny  per- 
of  New- 
jveruor's 
ike  it,  is 
A  the  ter- 
>f  the  St. 

province 
line  from 
;   insisted 

of  Nova 
ts  tributa- 

orLnwer 
their  favo- 
which  has 
>r,  s»ill  (he 

of  Great 
r  lost;  yet 
D  from  the 
converting 
gle,  which 
e  than  for- 


ty  miles  from  the  monument,  pt  the  source  of  the  river  St.  Croix, 
and  then  south v/esterly  for  more  than  one  hundred  miles,  would 
have  been  no  better,  ncr  would  it  be  based  on  a  more  solid  or 
suVtantial  aMthority. 

The  British  Minister  then  observes  "  the  Governor  of  New- 
Brunswick  informs  me,  he  does  not  consider  himself  at 
liberty  to  alter  in  any  way  the  existing  state  of  things 
as  far  as  regards  the  district  above  mentioned,  but  he  as- 
sures me  that  be  will  take  especial  care  to  keep  well  witbin  the 
limits  of  the  line  of  duty  markeri  out  for  bin;  and  considering  the 
shape  which  this  question  is  now  assuming  he  will  feel  it  impera- 
tive on  him  lo  apply  immediately  for  still  more  precise  instruc- 
tions for  guardance  of  his  conduct  in  a  matter  of  so  much  delica- 
te." 

More  notice  has  been  taken  of  the  foregoing  letter  than  its  im- 
portance otherwise  demanded,  on  account  of  its  being  the  first 
document  of  an  official  character  in  the  archives  of  this  State, 
which  goes  to  show  the  British  claim  as  it  had  been  made  by 
their  agent  under  the  fifth  articke  of  the  treaty  of  Ghent. 

The  Secretary  of  State,  Nov.  25th,  1826,  wrote  the  gover- 
nor of  this  State,  enclositig  a  copy  of  a  note  from  the  British 
Minister  to  him,  and  a  copy  of  a  note  from  Sir  Howard  Doug- 
lass to  the  British  Minister — On  llie  25th  December,  18S5,  the 
Governor  of  this  State  transmitted  the  Secretary  of  State  of 
the  United  States,  a  letter  with  a  copy  of  the  resolve  of  this  State 
respecting  the  settlers  on  the  St.  John  and  the  Madaw^ska  riv- 
ers imder  which  the  agent  of  the  State  acted— a  copy  of  the  re- 
solve of  the  legislature  of  Massachusetts  respecting  the  same — 
also  the  report  of  the  lund  agent  of  Maine,  detailing  particular- 
ly the  transaction^^  of  the  two  agents  under  said  resolves— From 
which  report  it  appears  that  the  land  agents  had  pursued  the 
authority,  given  them  by  the  resolves,  and  had  not  done  some 
of  the  acts  complained  of  by  the  British. 

The  subject  of  the  northeastern  boundary  was  again  noticed 
.  by  ice  Governor  in  his  message  to  both  branches  of  the  legisla- 
ture the  7th  Jan.  1826,  which  was  answered  by  the  legislature 
.  in  a  repor*  on  the  I7lh  January,  and  a  resolve  on  the  26th  of 
January  of  the  same  year.  "  That  the  governor  for  the  time 
being,  be  authorized  and  requested,  to  take  such  measures  as  he 
may  think  expedient  and  effectual  to  procure  for  the  use  cf  the 
St  ate,  copies  of  all  such  maps,  documents,  publecations,  papers 
and  surveys,  relating  to  the  northeastern  boundary  of  tha  Uni- 
ted States,  described  in  the  treaty  of  1 733,  and  such  other  in- 
formation Oil  that  subject  as  he  may  deem  necessary  and  useful 
for  this  State  to  be  possessed  of." 


l( 


'5?,  ' 


54      , 

t. 

"  That  the  Governor  of  this   State  in  conjunction   with  the' 
Governor  of  Mi'.ssachiisetts,  (provided  the  said  Commonwealth 
shal)  joncur  in  the  measure)   be  authorized  to  cause  the  eastern 
and  northeastern  lines  of  the  Slate   of  Mttine  to  be    explored,-^ 
and  the  monuments  upon  these  lines,  mentioned  in  the  treaty  of 
17S3,  to  be  ascertained  in  such  a  manner  as   may   be  deemed  ^ 
most  expedient,"  i' 

The  surveys  of  the  unappropriated  lands  of  Miine  and  Mas.?^^ 
sachuseits,  were  continued  and  five  ranges  of  townships   were 
surveyed,  and  extending  from  the  line  drawn  west  from  the  mon-^  , 
ument  and  extending  from  that  line  to  Ft&h  river  and  near  the 
river  Sf.  John. 

The  Fi^h  river  road  extendiujs^  from  the  east   branch  of  th«  > 
Penobscot  river,  northwardly  to  Fish    river,   was   laid  out  also 
under  the  authority  of  the  States. 

The  resolve  was  communicated    to  the  Senators  of  this  State 
in  the  Congress  of  the  United  Slates,  and  enclosed  by  the   Gov- 
ernor on  the  day  of  its  passage.     And    there  was  procured,  iMR^' 
consequence  of  it,  a  copy  of  the  general  map   compiled   by  tbe^' 
United  States'  8urveyoi8,from  surveys  made  under  the  fifth  arti-  *" 
cle  of  the  treaty  of  Ghent. 

The  subject  wns  again  presented  to  both  branches  of  the  leg- 
islature b\  the  Governor,  in  his  message,  on  the  4th  of  January 
1827— And  the  Governor  also  by  special  messuage   communica- 
ted a  letter,  from  th6  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States, 
dated  January  29th,  of  the  same  year,  accompanied  by  a  letter 
of  Charles  R.  Vaughan,  E^q.  the  British  Minister,  dat<-d    Jan. 
7,  I8t7,   wherein    he   complains  of  the   acts   of    :\1aine    and 
MaHsachttsetts,  in  surveying  and  iayinr:  out  townships  and  roads, 
and  concludes  by  saying,  *'  I  think  it  adviseabletn  make  you  ac- 
quainted Mithout  delay  with  the  t^ommnnication  which  i  have  re- 
ceived from  the  Lieut.  Governor  ol    New    Brunswick,   whom  I 
beg  leave  to  assure  you  cautiously  abstains  on   his  part  ti-om  ex- 
ercising any  authority  in  the  dis|jnted  territory  which  could    in- 
vite encroachments   as  a   measure  of  retaliation."     All   which 
were  considered  and  became  the  subject  of  a  report  in  the  legia- 
latnre  on  the  1 2th  ddy  of  February  18-27,  and  a    Resolve    wte 
passed  thereon,  on  the  23d  day  of  the  same  month,  Res)>ecting 
the  Northeastern  boundary  of  the  State,  to  wit. — 

"  Resolved,  That  the  Governor  be,  and  he  is  hereby  request- 
ed to  take  all  such  measures,  both  in  acquiring  information  and 
in  procuring  a  sp«edy  adjustment  of  the  dispute  according  to  the 
treaty  of  1 783  as  he  may  deem  expedient  and  for  the  interest 
of  the  State.'* 

To.  this  period,  notSing  of  any  importance  had  been  obtained 
under  the  Resolves  of  the  State  although  they  bad  been  regular- 


55 


r!V 


ly  communicated,  and  all  the  information,  which  was  in   posses- 
sion of  the  government  of  this  State  consisted,  in  the  few  Hnd  ve- 
r)»  few  copies  of  letters  from   the  British   Minister,    which   had 
been  elicited  by  the  resolves  of  the  Stnte  of  Maine  ;  and    be- 
yond that  there  was  no  official  information  of  the  proci-edings  of 
the  commission  under  the  fifth  article  of  the  treaty  of  Client,  n.>r 
the  claims  set  up  by  the  British,  except   what-  wns  derived  from 
public  reports,  vague  in  th<^ir  nature  and  uncertain  in  their  char- 
acter.    It  was  not  until  long  after  the  commissioners  had  termin- 
ated their  labors,  that   any  official  communication  was  made, 
which  tended  to  shew  the  British  Claim,  and  even  tliat  from    the 
looseness  of  its  phraseology  seemed  to  convey,  no  other  distinct 
idea,  than  that,  the  British,  from  causes  known   to    themselves, 
claimed  ail  the  country  north  and  west  of  Mars  hill,  as  a  part  of 
the  ancient  province  of  Nova  Scotia,  and  even  that  did  not  ap- 
pear until  near  the  middle  of  the  year  1825.     yUe  delay  to  give 
information  to  the  State  of  Maine,  when  it  had  been  so  often  re- 
quested particularly  in  the  letter  of  the  Governttr,  of  July  1820, 
to  the  executive  of  the  United  States,  containing  a   request   that 
some  one  mrght  be  added  from  the  State  of  Maine   to  assist   in 
the  examination  of  the  subject  and  considering  that  the  sovrei^- 
ty  of  the  whole  country  to  which  the  British  had,  in  such  an  ex- 
traordinary manner  and  so  contrary  to  the  discusi>ions  which  pre- 
ceded   the  treaty  of  Ghent,  pretended  a  claim  was  in  Maine,  and 
that  the  government  of  the  United  States  had  no   c6nstitutionalt 
Authority   to   cede  any  portion  of  an   independent  sovreigiity, 
directly  or  by  construction,  is  certainly  very  extraordinary,— 
Ami  it  cannot  fail  to  appear  extraordinary  that  the  Same   policy 
on  the  part  of  the  govemmeiu  of  the  United  States  should  be 
continued,  when  by  uniting  Maine  in  the  controversy  all  reasona- 
ble ground  of  complaint  on  her  part  would  have  been    removed, 
at  least,  if«he  had  in  her  sovereign  capacity  engaged  in  the  con- 
troversy, she  must  have  been   concluded  by  the  resuh.     If  she 
had  mismanaged    her  concerns  that  could    never    have   been 
brought  up  as  a  reasonable  cause  of  complaint  against  the  Unitt- d 
States.     Maine  as  she  was  in  a  state  of  profound  ignorance   had 
no  opportunity  to  aid  or  assist  the  UnUeif  Stites  nor  does  she 
claim  that  she  has  a  right  to  interfere  in  the  course  its  government 
chooses  to  adopt,  but  she  has  the  right  of  reading  the  constitution 
of  the  United  States  of  judging  for  herself  and  if  She  is  deprived 
of  the  exercise  of  her  sovereignty   and  her  property,   she  has  a 
right  to  remonstrate  and  assert  her  rights,  and  by  force  of  the 
original  compact  she  is  entitled  to  the  aid  and   assistance  of  the 
independent  sovereignties  constituting  the  United  States,  to  rein- 
state her  in  that  of  which  she  has  been  deprived,  by  an  unjust  and 
luiconstitutioual  exercise  of  power.  * 


I 


mmimm 


The  promptness,  decision,  perseverance  and  ability  with 
which  the  Grovernor  has  executed  the  request  contained  in  the 
last  resolre,  merits  the  encomiums  and  approbation  of  the 
State.  If  further  comment  wei*«  necessary,  the  fact  that  all 
the  information  which  had  been  so  long,  but  unsuccessfully 
sought,  was  obtained,  speaks  a  language  more  satisfactory  to 
him  and  the  State,  than  any  thing  we  could  add.  As  to  t  \6 
positions  taken  and  maintained  by  the  Governor,  they  must  be 
m  accordance  with  the  views  and  common  sense  of  tne  State, 
and  we  ctinnot  present  his  discussions  in  a  clearer  or  more  ac- 
ceptable light,  than  to  request  a  fair^  candid  and  impartial  ex- 
amination of  them.  With  these  remarks  and  without  further 
comment,  the  correspondence  between  him  and  the  govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  is  annexed. 

Thus  we  have  detailed  at  some  length,  the  piii)cijpal  facts 
and  circumstances  touching  the  title  and  the  extent  of  the  ti- 
tle of  the  State  to  territory  and  jurisdiction,  from  which  it 
appears,  that  our  title  is  perfect  to  all  the  territory  bounded 
by  the  southern  line  of  the  province  of  Lower  Canada,  to  wit 
by  the  line  drawn,  from  the  head  of  Connecticut  river,  along 
the  lands,  which  limit  the  sources,  of  the  rivers,  that  fall  into 
the  river  St.  Law'rence,  to  the  head  of  the  bay  of  ChaleurS) 
and  westward  of  the  line  drawn  due  north  from  the  source  of 
the  river  St  Croix  to  ihat  line,  being  the  line  described  and 
adopted  by  the  British  Qovernment  fong  before  the  revolution 
and  beins  the  lines  whiqh  are  also  described  and  adopted  by 
the  provisional,  and  definitive  treaties  of  peace. — That  the 
British  government  have  alwavs,  directly  and  indirectly  con- 
ceded our  title,  in  all  the  negotiations  and  discussions  on  the 
subject  prior  to  the  discussions  under  the  fifth  article  of  the 
treaty  of  Ghent,  and  made  no  claim  of  title  founded  on  any 
intrusion  of  theirs,  the  ministers,  who  sought  it  as  a  cession, 
not  having  urged  or  even  stated  the  fact,  except  by  way  of  al- 
lusion, and  that  Massachusetts  and  Maine  have  always  exer- 
cised jurisdiction  according  to  the  title  of  Maine  and  have  con- 
tinued their  progress  of  surve3''s,  sates  and  settlements,  and 
other  acts,  and  that  the  United  States  have  always  exerci»«ed 
general  jurisdiction  and  did  in  1820  exercise  acts  of  jurisdic- 
tion as  far  as  there  was  any  occasion  for  it  : — That  there  was 
no  reason,  from  any  knowledi^e  in  possession  of  the  United 
States,  until  very  recently,  and  still  more  recently  in  posses- 
sion of  this  State,  more  immediately  interested,  to  suppose, 
that,  if  the  British  Government  had  crossed  the  above  describe 
ed  lines,  she  would  not,  as  soon  as  the  lines .  were  surveyed, 
withdraw  and  cease  to  commit  like  acts  of  intrusion  ;  and  it 
has  also  appeared  from  representations  made  by  the  British 
MinisUir  t^  the  Secretary  of  State,  *'  that  the  Lieutenant  Qot- 


s 


*. 


6t 


ernor  of  New  Brunswick  had  given  assurances  that  he  would 
cautiously  abstain  from  all  acts  jf  authority  which  could  invite 
encroachments  as  a  meaeui-e  of  retaliation.*' 

But  notwithstanding  all  these  facts  circum«tances  and  assur- 
ances, John  Baker  a  'citizen  ef  the  State  of  Maine  and  the 
United  States  was  arrested  in  his  own  dwelling  house,  situated! 
on  the  land  he  purchased  of,  and  holds  by  the  deed  from  Mas- 
sachusetts and  Maine,  on  a  warrant  and  other  process  served 
by  the  Sheriff  of  the  county  of  York,  accompanied  by  armed 
men  and  in  the  night  time,  at  least  before  Baker  had  risen 
from  his  bed,  and  'was  carried  to  Frederickton  and  thrown  in- 
to prison  where  he  is  now  confined.  Processes  have  alio  been 
served,  within  our  territory,  on  the  Aroostook,  and  the  cattle 
and  property  of  our  citizemi  have  been  taken  away  by  the 
civil  officers  of  New  Brunswick.  Baker  is  charmd  amo-ng 
among  other  things,  with  an  intrusion  and  trespass  on  the  pre- 
mises he  holds  under  Massachusetts  and  Maine. 

When  the  Governor  of  this  State  had  received  notice  that 
the  sovereignty  of  the  State,  by  the  officer  of  the  government 
of  New  Brunswick,  bad  be^i  violated,  in  the  abduction  and 
imprisonment  of  one  of  its  citizens  and  other  acts,  he  issued 
his  prodamation,  and  commissioned  an  agent  of  the  State  to 
proceed  to  the  province  of  New  Brunswick,  to  enquire  intb 
the  cause  of  the  arrest  and  the  other  violations  of  the  State 
sovereignty,  and  to  demand  of  the  Government  of  New  Bruns- 
wick the  restoration  of  Baker  ;  all  which  will  more  fully 
appear  in  the  documents  annexed.  The  Governor  has  in  this^ 
with  his  usual  promptness,  discretion  and  ability  performed 
his  duty  to  the  State  and  its  citizens.  The  agent  in  prosecu- 
tion of  the  object  of  his  commission  proceeded,  to  Frederick- 
ton  the  cfipitol  of  New  Brunswick,  and  notified  the  govern- 
ment of  his  arrival  and  official  capacity.  He  was  not  received 
in  his  oMcial  capacity.  I^'rom  what  cause  that  arose,whether 
from  their  own  policy  or  their  misconstruction  of  the  power 
and  authority  of  the  Governor  of  this  State,  is  not  certain. 
It  seems  ta  m  thete  would  have  been  no  objection  to  the  re- 
cognition of  the  agent  of  this  State,  had  his  commission  been 
only  to  demand  a  fugitive  from  justice,  or  that  the  Governor 
of  New  Brunswick  would  consider,  that  he  was  tjanscending 
his  power,  were  he  to  send  an  agent  to  this  State  to  demand  a 
fugitive  from  his  own  government.  Notwithstanding  he  wa? 
not  received  in  an  official  character,  we  are  happy  to  have  it 
in  our  power  to  say,  that  he  was  politely  received  by  the  gen- 
tlemen of  the  place.  The  object  of  his  agency,  therefore,  so 
far  as  it  related  to  the  arrest  and  imprisonment  of  Baker,  to- 
tall  v  ff'iled,  as  it  did  also  in  some  other  respects. 

rtis  official  capacity  embraced  two  objects,  . 


\      f- 


58 

1st.  To  demand  a  delivery  of  persons. 

.^d.  To  obtain  public  information. 

If  not  recognized  for  any  other  purpose,  he  might  have  been 
permitted  as  a  person  authorized  to  inquire  into  the  truth  of 
fa'^AS,  important  to  the  rights  of  the  people  of,  the  State  and 
peace  of  the  Country. 

From  all  the  facts,  we  cannot  perceive  on  what  ground  they 
can  justify  the  violation  of  the  State  and  National  sovereignty 
in  the  arrest  of  Baker,  on  his  own  soil  and  freehold,  which 
he  holds  in  fee  under  the  States  of  Massachusetts  and  Maine, 
and  the  other  acts  of  their  officers  on  the  Aroostock.  On  the 
ground  of  title  they  have  no  justification,  and  they  can  only 
justify  themselves  on  tL4}  ground  of  a  possession  defacto^  which 
cannot  by  the  acknowledged  principles  of  law  be  extended 
beyond  actual  accupation.  In  the  case  of  Baker  the  settlemen 
on  his  lot  was  commenced  not  within  even  a  possession  de  facto, 
feeble  and  slender  as  that  would  be  ;  and  in  relation  to  the 
Aroostook  there  is  not  even  a  possession  of  any  kind,  un- 
less it  has  been  acquired  by  the  lawless  depredations  of  indi- 
viduals for  which  they  have,  from  time  to  time,  atoned  by 
settlements  with  the  agents  of  the  State  of  Maine.  Even  the 
few,  who  have  settled  on  the  Aroostook,  settled  there  consid- 
ering it  to  be  within  this  State  and  intending  also  to  settle  out 
of  the  province  of  New  Brunswick.  The  course  pursued  by 
the  British  must  be  accounted  for  on  another  principle,  than 
'*  a  cautious  abstinance  of  the  exercise  of  authority  which 
could  invite  encroachments  as  a  measure  of  retaliation." 

When  the  British  are  thus  attempting  to  extend  their  intru- 
sion and  imprisoning  and  otherwise  harrassing  by  legal  process 
citizens  of  Maine,  they  have  constitutional  claims  on  her  pro* 
testion;  and  although  Massachusetts  and  Maine  from  the  treaty 
of  peace  have  exercised  the  same  jurisdiction  overall  the  wild 
lands  which  had  not  been  particularly  appropriated  for  culti- 
vation to  this  time  ;  if  sucn  acts  are  repeated  it  cannot  be  ex-» 
pected  that  Maine  will  be  a  quiet  spectator.  It  will  be  her 
duty  to  enforce  her  laws  within  her  own  jurisdiction,  and  to 
protect  her  own  rights  and  the  rights  of  her  citizens. 

The  Government  of  the  United  States  have  a  duty  to  per- 
form towards  the  State,  and  its  citizens,  not  less  towards  thoie 
who  are  forcibly  taken  from  the  territory,  and  imprisoned, 
than  towards  those  who  are  taken  from  the  national  marine. 
An  agent  has  been  sent  to  the  province  of  New-Brunsiwck 
-who  has  returned,  and  we  have  a  confidence  that  the  whole 
business  will  be  adjusted,  and  that  the  constitutional  rights 
of  the  State  and  the  liberties  and  rights  of  the  citizens  will 
be  protected  and  preserved. 

Your  committee  impressed  with  the  importance  of  the  subject 
to  this  State  and  the  United  States,  and  approving  most  cor- 


oially,  of  the  measures  taken  by  the  Governor,  believe  from 
the  past  that  the  State  has  a  well  founded  assurance  that  its 
best  interests  will  be  protected  and  its  constitutional  rights 
preserved. 

JOHN  L.  MEGQUIER. 

REUEL  WILLIAMS. 

JOSHUA  W.  HATHAWAY. 

JOHN  G.  DEANE. 

HENRY  W.  FULLER. 

WILLIAM  VANCE. 

JOSHUA  CARPENTER. 

RUFUS  BURNHAM. 


■  \   i 


STATE  OF  MAINE. 

House  of  Representatives,  Jan.  26,  1828. 

All  which  with  the  annexed  Resolve  and  Documents  is  re- 
spectfully submitted  by  Order  of  the  Committee. 

JOHN  G.  DEANE. 


House  of  Representatives^  Feb.  14,*  18:28. 

This  Report  was  read,  considered,  and  unanimously  accepted. 
Sent  up  for  concurrence. 

JOHN  RUGGLES,  Speaker, 
Attest,  JAMES  L.  CHILD,  CUrk  of  the  House  of  Representatms. 


Wi  ■ 


If 

mm 


lofle 


In  Senate,  Feb.  16,  1828. 

This  Report  was  read,  considered,  and  unanimously  accepted, 
in  concurrence  with  the  House  of  Representatives. 

ROBERT  P.  DUNLAP,  President. 
Attest,  EEENEZER  HUTCHINSON,  Secretary  of  the  Senate. 


n 


laa 


V  ■  ■ 


GO 


STATE  OF  MAINfi. 


A  Resolve  relating  to  the  North-Eastern  Boundary. 
Resolved^  That  the  Governor  be,  and  he  hereby  is  requBted 
to  transmit  a  copy  of  the  Report  of  the  Committee,  to  whom 
tvas  referred  so  much  of  his  communication,  made  to  the  Le- 
gislatnre,  as  relates  to  the  North  Eastern  Boundary  of  this 
State,  to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  to  the  Governor 
of  each  State  in  the  Union,  and  two  copies  to  each  of  our 
Senators  and  Representatives  in  Congress,  and  each  of  our  fo- 
reign Ambassadors;  and  that  one  hundred  and  fifty  copies  be 
at  the  disposal  of  the  Governor. 

trc  THE  House  of  Representatives,  F'cb.  16,  1828. 
'  Read  and  passed. 

JOHN  RUGGLES,  Speaker, 
Attest^JAMES  L.  CHILD,  Clerk. 

IN  SENATE,  Feb.  18,  1828. 
Read  and  passed. 

ROBERT  P.  DUNLAP,  Prerident. 
Attest— EBENEZER  HUTCHINSON,  Secretary. 

Febniar*?  18,  1828....  Approved. 

ENOCH  LINCOLN. 


'■''^:m^'^. 


MM.1 


ERRATA. 

mt^t  a, — Imort  in  tbe  23(1  line  ftoni  tke  Inn.  the  word  CANNOT,  l>«tivo«n  the  woril)  conntxion  ami  be. 

Page  8.— In  the  USth  finv  frnm  the  hdltomi'dple  6  anA  insert  5,  so  (h:it  itirill  rearf'tSSS  Irntead  of  ICSd. 

Piige  13.— Note  at  the  bottom,  dele  7,  8,  9,  mid  re»d  8,  9,  10. 

Pig«  I  Nw— ^Before  (hk  word  ^  at  thR  cMninenaeaient  vf  the  lup  line,  Itmtt  (he  word  ON- 

Page  30.-4ti  the  10lh  line  from  (Ke  'bcfUoin  dele  treaty  wai  And  iiuert  TKKATIGS  WERE ;  and  at  the 

end  of  the  laoic  Uoe,  dele  •>  mat  and  ii»en  TIIEY  WERE, 
la  the  8Hi  line  fitam  ihp  tx^ttom,  aftei  Ifi*  Wf'dpftKrHt&  i««d,  TO  THE  KAfilliRN  PART 

OF  THE  UNITED  STATKS. 
At  the  end  of  the  16th  line  from  the  tup,  after  the  word  t\r,  read,  ANOI.R. 
Pace  !)6.-4n<he  lata  liue  from  the  top,  after  the  word  latUvule,  read,  DUE    WEST   B7  A  LINK  ON 

SAin  LATITUDE. 
Pa^es  46  and  47. — In  all  place*  where  the  word  Oroortook  occurs,  read,  AROOSTOOK. 
Page  49. — In  the  7th  line  train  the  top,  Itciween  the  words  convtytil  and  tioo,  insert  OF. 
Titf  U.— In  the  3d  line  from  Uie  bottom,  dele  Am,  and  read  MAY  HAVE.  ' 

-,  '  .  ■  ,■  .  t  '' 

r  ■  •  ■  ,1 

.'■'■■  .        ".      „  '    ■ 


-<»-^ 


APPEJVDIX* 


sro.  t. 

V^n  Extract  from  the  grant  of  Jfamt  Ittyto  Sir  William  AUxaA^ 
Her,  (afterwards  Lord  SierHi^i)  passed  September  10,  I6S1 . 

We  do  by  these  presents  ^e,  grant  and  convey  to  the  s$ii4 
Sir  William  Alexander  his  heirs  and  as&igns,  all  and  singular  the 
lands  upon  the  Continent,  and  the  Islands  situate,  lying,  and  being 
in  America,  within  the  head  or  promontory  commonly  called 
Cape  Sable,  in  the  latitude  of  forty-^three  degrees,  nearly  or 
thereabouts,  from  that  promontory  along  the  shore,  stretching 
to  the  west  to.the  bay  Commonly  called  St.  Mary's  Bay,  thence 
to  the  north  by  a  direct  line  crossing  the  entrance  or  mouth  of 
the  great  bay,  which  extends  Eastward,  between  tht:  countries  of 
the  Siroquois  and  £tchemins,  so  commonly  called,  to  the  river 
commonly  called  by  the  name  of  the  He  .y  Cross,  or  the  Saint 
Croix,^  and  to  the  furthest  source  or  spring,  upon  the  western 
branch  of  the  same,  which  first  mingles  its  waters  with  those  of 
the  said  river ;  thence  by  an  imaginary  direct  line,  to  be  drawn 
or  run  through  the  countr}',  or  over  the  land,  to  the  north,  to  the 
first  bay,  river  or  spring  errtptying  itself  into  the  great  river  of 
Canada;  and  froiYi  thence  running  to  the  East,  along  the  shores 
of  the  said  river  of  Canada,  to  the  river,  bay  or  harbor  common* 
}y  called  and  known  by  the  name  of  Gachepe  or  Gaspee,  and 
from  thence  southeast  to  the  Islands  called  Baccalaos  or  Cape 
'Breton,  leaving  the  same  Islands  upon  the  right,  and  the  Gulph 
qf  the  said  river  or  bay  of  Canada  and  Newfoundland,  with  tbs 
Islands  thereunto  belonging,  upon  the  left ;  and  from  thence  tqi 
the  head  pr  promontory  of  Cape  Breton  aforesaid,  lying  near  the 
latitude  of  forty-five  degrees  or  thereabouts,  and  from  the  said 
promontory  of  Cape  Breton,  to  the  southwarJ  and  westward 
to  Cape  Sable  aforesaid,  the  place  of  beginning,  including 
f\ad  comprehending  within  the  said  coasts  and  shores  of  the 
and   the  circumferences  thereof  from  sea  to  sea,  all  the 


sea 


lands  upon  the  Continent,  vvith  the  rivers,  torrents,  bays,  shores, 
islands  or  seas,  lying  near  to,  or  within  six  leagues  from  any  part 
thereof,on  the  western,  northern,  or  eastern  parts  of  the  said 
coasts  and  precincts  of  the  same,  and  to  the  southeast  where  Capij 
Breton  lies,  and  to  the  southward  thereof  \yhcro  Cape  Sable  lies, 


.*' 


all  the  seas  and  islands,  to  the  south,  withhi  forty  leagues  of  the 
said  shores,  including  the  great  island  commonly  called  the  Isle 
of  Sable  or  Sablon,  lying  south-south-east  in  the  ocean,  about 
thirty  leagues  from  Cape  Breton  aforesaid,  and  being  in  the  lati- 
tude of  forty-four  degrees,  or  thereabouts. 

All  which  lands  aforesaid,  shall  at  all  times  hereafter  be  called 
and  known  by  the  name  of  Nova  Scotia  or  New  Scotland,  in 
Americat  And  if  any  questions  or  doubts  shall  hereafter  arise 
upon  the  interpretation  or  construction  of  any  clause  in  the  pres- 
ent letters  patent  contained,  they  shall  all  be  taken  and  interpre- 
ied  in  the  most  extensive  sense,  and  in  favor  of  the  said  Sir  Wil- 
liam Alexander,  his  heirs  and  assigns  aforesaid.  Moreover,  wc, 
of  our  certain  knowledge,  our  own  proper  motion,  regal  authori- 
ty, and  royal  power,  have  made,  united,  annexed,  erected,  creat- 
ed and  incorporated,  and  we  do,  by  these  our  letters  patent, 
make,  unite,  annex,  erect,  create,  and  incorporate  the  whole  and 
entire  province  and  lands  of  Nova  Scotia  aforesaid,  with  all  the 
limits  thereof,  seas,  8ic. ;  oflicers  and  jurisdictions,  and  all  other 
things  generally  and  specially  abovementioned,  into  one  entire 
and  free  dominion  and  barony,  to  be  called  at  all  times  hereafter 
by  the  aforesaid  name  of  Nova  Scotia. 


1    I 


Extract  from  the  grant  of  Charles  the  2d,   to  James,  Duke  of 
Yorki  dated  }2th  of  March,  1663. 

-  Know  ye  that  we,  for  divers  good  causes,  he.  have,  he.  and 
by  these  presents,  Sec.  do  give  and  grant  unto  our  dearest  broth- 
er, James,  duke  of  York,  his  heirs  and  assigns,  all  that  part  of  the 
main  land  of  New  England,  beginning  at  a  certain  place,  called 
or  known  by  the  name  of  ?l.  Croix,  next  adjoining  to  New  Scot- 
land, in  America ;  and  from  thence  extending  along  the  sea 
coast  unto  a  certain  place  called  Pemaquie  or  Pemaquid,  and  so 
up  the  river  thereof,  to  the  farthest  head*  of  the  same  as  it  tend- 
eth  northward  ;  and  extending  from  thence  to  the  river  Kimbe- 
quin,  and  so  upwards,  by  the  shortest  course  to  the  river  of  Can- 
ada, northward.  And  also  &!!  that  island  or  islands  commonly 
called  by  the  several  name  or  names  of  Matowacks  or  Long  Isl- 
and, situate,  lying  and  being  towards  the  west  of  Cape  Cod  and 
the  Narrow  Higansets,  abutting  upon  the  main  land  between  the 
two  rivers,  there  called  or  known  by  the  several  names  of  Con- 
^lerticnt  and  Hudson's  river ;  together,  also,  with  the  said  river, 


out 
iti- 


called  Hudson's  river,  and  all  the  lands  from  the  west  tide  of  Con- 
necticut river,  tu  the  east  side  of  Delaware  bay.  And  also  all 
those  several  islands,  called  or  known  by  the  names  of  Martin'i 
Vineyard,  and  Nantukes,  or  otherwise  Nantucket. 


NO.  3. 

Extract  from  the  Charter  of  the  Province  of  the  Massachusetts  6ay, 
in  JSTew-England,  dated  1th  Oct.  1691,  3(i  WHUam  ^  Mary. 

William  and  Mary,  by  the  grace  of  God,  King  and  Queen  of 
England,  Scotland,  France,  and  Ireland,  defenders  of  the  faith, 
&c.  to  all  to  whom  these  presents  shall  come,  Greeting :  We 
do  by  these  presents,  for  us,  our  heirs,  and  successors,  will  and 
ordain,  that  the  territories  and  colonies,  commonly  called  or 
known  by  the  names  of  the  colony  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  and 
colony  of  New  Plymouth,  the  province  of  Maine,  and  the  terri- 
tory, called  Acadia  or  Nova  Scotia,  and  all  that  tract  of  land, 
lying  between  the  said  territories  of  Nova  Scotia,  and  the  said 
province  of  Maine,  be  erected,  united  and  incorporated  ;  and  we 
do,  by  these  presents,  unite,  erect,  and  incorporate  the  same  in- 
to one  real  province,  by  the  name  of  our  province  of;  the  Massa- 
chusetts Bay  in  New  England  ;  and  of  our  especial;  grace,  cer- 
tain knowkdge,  and  mere  motion,  we  have  given  and  granted, 
and  by  these  presents,  for  us,  our  heirs,  and  successors,  do  give  and 
grant,  unto  our  good  subjects,  the  inhabitants  of  our  said  prov- 
ince or  territory  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  their  successors,  all 
that  part  of  New  England  in  America,  lying  and  extending  from 
the  Great  River,  commonly  called  Monomack,  alias  Merrimack, 
on  the  north  part,  and  from  three  miles  northward  of  the  said 
river  to  the  Atlantic,  or  western  sea  or  Ocean,  on  the  south  part 
and  all  the  lands  and  hereditaments  whatever,  lying  within  the 
limits  aforesaid,  and  extending  as  far  as  the  outermost  points  or 
promontories  of  land  called  Cape  Cod  and  Cape  Malabar,  north 
and  south,  and  in  latitude,  breadth,  and  in  length,  and  longitude, 
of  and  within  all  the  breadth  and  compass  aforesaid,  throughout 
the  main  land  there,  from  the  said  Atlantic  or  western  sea  and 
ocean,  otithe  east  part,  towards  the  south  sea,  or  westward,  as 
far  as  our  colonies  of  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  and  the  Nara- 
gansett  country  ;  and,  also,  all  that  part  and  portion  of  Maine 
land,  beginning  at  the  entrance  of  Piscataqua  harbour,  and  so  to 
pass  up  the  same  into  the  river  of  Newichwannock,  and  through 
the  same  into  the  farthest  head  thereof,  and  from  thence  north* 


i 


;:*'f- 


I 

I 


■# 


Westward,  till  one  fiundrcd  and  Iwcnt}'  miles  lie  (inlslied,  nnd  front 
Fiscataqua  harbor  mouth  aforesaid,  nortlicailward  along  the  sea 
roast  to  Sagadehock,*  nnd  from  the  period  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty  milet  'aforesaid,  to  cross  over  land  from  Piscata- 
quR  harbor,  through  Ncwichwannock  river ;  and  also  the  north 
half  of  the  I«le«  of  Shoals,  together  with  the  Isles  ofCapawack 
and  Nanluckett,  near  Cnpc  Cod  aforesaid  ;  and  also  the  lands, 
nnd  hereditaments  lying  and  being  in  the  country  or  territory 
commonly  called  Acadie,  or  Nova  Scotia,  and  all  those  land« 
and  hereditaments  lying  and  extending  between  the  said  country 
or  territory  of  Nova  Scotia,  and  the  said  river  of  Sagadchock,  or 
any  part  thereof. 

That  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  for  the  saiti  Governor  and 
l^neral  assembly  to  make  or  pass  aiiy  grant  qf  hands  lying  with- 
in the  bounds  of  the  coloivies  formerly  called'the  colonies  of  the 
Massachusetts  Bay,  and  New-Plymouth,  and  province  of  Maine, 
in  such  manner  as  heretofore  they  might  have  done  by  virtue  of 
any  former  charter  or  letters  patent  j  which  grants  of  lands,  wilk* 
in  the  bounds  aforesaid  we  do  hereby  will  and  ordain  to  be  and 
continue  forever  of  fuH  force  and  effect,  without  our  further  ap- 
probation or  CO  ient.  Artd  so  as  nevertheless,  and  it  is  our  roy- 
al will  and  pleasure,  that  no  grant  lor  grants  of  any  lands  lying 
or  extending  from  the  river  of  Sagadebock  to  the  gulf  of  St. 
Lawrence  and  Canada  rivers,  and  to  the  main  sea  northward  and 
eastward,  to  be  made  or  past  by  the  Governor  nnd  general  as- 
sembly of  our  said  province,  be  of  any  force,  validity,  or  effect, 
until  we,  our  heirs,  or  successors,  shall  havQ  signified  our  nppro- 
i^ation  of  the  same.  * 


I  'i 


'11 


sro.  4. 

Copy  of  Col.  PhUUpps^  Commission  for  the  Government  of 
JS'ova  Scotia — 1719. 
George  by  the  Grace  of  God  &c. — To  our  trusty  and  well  be- 
loved Richard  Phillipps,  Esq.  Greeting  : 

Know  ye  that  we  reposing  especial  Trust  and  confideoce  ip  tbe 

•Tl^e  fbllowing  words,  viz.  "  And  up  the  river  tliereof  to  the  Ktiybecky 
rrrer,  and  throup;ii  the  same  to  the  head  thereof,  and  unto  the  land  north- 
westward, until  one  limulred  and  t^venty  miles  be  ended,  beinj;  accounted 
Irom  the  nioutlv  ©("Sai^adeliock,"'  as  inserted  in  (Jorge's  grunts  (from  which 
the  dencriptive  part  ortlie  boundaries  of  Maine  in  tliis  charter  is  taken,^  ap- 
near  to  have  been  inadvertently  omitted,  being  necessary  to  render  those 
beundariefl  intelligible  ;  and  !«hoHld  follow  tlte  word  Saqadehoek,  to  whi<>k^ 
the  asterisk  is  afilxi^d. 


% 


5         •■.-. 

prudence,  courage,  nnd  loyalty  of  you  the  said  Richard  Phil* 
Hpps,  out  of  our  especial  grace,  certain  knowledge,  andl  nere 
motiun,  have  thought  fit  to  constitute  and  appoint,  and  by  these 
presents  do  constitute  and  appoint  you  the  said  Richard  PInlKpps, 
to  be  our  Governor  of  Placentia  in  Newfoundland  ;  and  our  Cap- 
tain General  and  Governor  in  chief  in  and  over  our  province  of 
Nova  Scotia  or  Acadie  in  America  :  and  we  do  hereby  require 
and  command  you  to  do  and  execute  all  things  in  due  manner 
thnt  shall  belong  unto  your  said  command,  and  the  trast  we 
have  reposed  in  you,  according  to  the  several  powers  ami  di- 
rections granted  or  appointed  you  by  this  present  Commission, 
and  the  instructions  herewith  given  you,  or  by  sucb  further  pow- 
ers. Instructions,  or  authorities  as  shall  at  any  time  hereafter  be 
granted  or  appointed  you,  under  our  signet  and  sign  manual  or 
by  our  order  m  our  Privy  Council,  and  according  to  such  rea- 
sonable Laws  and  Statutes,  as  shall  hereaftec  be  made  and  as- 
sented to  by  you,  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  our  Couiioil 
and  assembly  of  our  said  Province,  hereafter  to  He  appointed. 

And  for  the  better  Administration  of  Justice  and  manage- 
ment of  the  Public  affairs  of  our  said  Province,  We  hereby  give 
and  gr.ant  unto  you  the  said  Richard  Phillipps  full  power  and 
puthority  to  choose,  nominate;  and  appoint  such  fitting  anddis" 
ereet  persons  as  you  shall  either  find  there  or  carry  along  with 
you,  not  exceeding  the  number  of  twelve  to  be  of  our  Council  in 
our  said  Province,  till  our  further  pleasure  be  known,  any  Fiv% 
wbereof  we  do  hereby  appoint  to  be  a  Quorum. 


Draught  of  a  comtnistionfor  the  Hon.  Col.  Cornwallit  to  be 
Qovernor  of  J^ova  S^.oHa — ^prii  29f  1749. 

George  the  second  by  the  Grace  of  Goix,  of  Great  Britain, 
France  and  Ireland  King,  Defender  of  tlie  faith,  Uc.  To  our 
Trusty  and  well  beloved  The  Hon.  Edward  Cornwallis  Esq. 
Greeting.  Whereas  we  did  by  our  Letters  Patent  under  our 
Great  Seal  of  Great  Britain  bearing  date  at  Westminister  the 
1 1  th  day  of  September  in  the  second  year  of  our  Reign  con- 
stitute and  appoint  Richard  Phillipps  Esq.  our  Captain  General 
and  Governor  in  Chief  in  and  over  our  Province  of  Nova  Sco- 
tia or  Acadie  in  America  with  all  Rights  Members  and  Appur- 
tenances whatever  thereunto  belonging  for,  and  during  our  will 
and  Pleasure,  as  by  the  &aid  recited  Letters  Patent  rolatioix  be* 


m 


u 


n<*«np 


p« 


6 

ing  thereunto  had,  may  more  fully  and  at  large  appear  :  Nor/ 
know  you  that  We  have  revoked  and  determined,  and  by  these 
presents,  do  revoke  and  determine,  the  said  recited  Letters  Pa- 
tent and  every. clause,  article  and  thing  therein  contained  ;  and 
iurther  know  you,  that  VV^e,  reposing  especial  Trust  and  confi- 
^enoe  in  the  prudence,  Courage  and  Loyalty  of  you  the  said  Ed- 
ward Corn wallis,  of  our  especial  Grace,  certain  knowledge,  and 
mere  tiiotion,  have  thought  fit  to  constitute  and  appoint,  and  by 
these  presents  do  Copstitute  and  appoint  you  the  said  Richard 
Cornwallis  to  be  our  Captian  General  and  Governor  in  Chief  in 
and  over  the  Province  of  Nova  Scotia  or  Acadie  in  America,  with 
all  »he  Rights,  members  and  appurtenances  whatever  thereunto 
belonging. 

18th  March  1752.  The  Commission  given  to  Peregrine 
Thomas  Hopson,  as  Governor  of  the  Province  of  Nova  Scotia  is 
the  same,  mutatis  mutandis,  as  that  given  to  Edward  Cornwallis 
Esq. 


NO  6. 

jSxtraci  from  the  Proclamation  of  the  Kinp;  of  Great  Britain,  of 
the  7th  oj  October,  1 763,  establishing  four  governments. 

liY  THjb:  AlTiiGj  A  PROCLAMATION. 

George  R. 

Whereas  we  have  taken  into  our  royal  consideration  the  ex- 
tensive and  valuable  acquisitions  in  America,  secured  to  our 
Crown,  by  the  late  definitive  treaty  of  peace,  concluded  at  Paris 
the  10th  day  of  February  last;  and  being  desirous  that  all  our 
loving  fubjecis,  as  well  of  our  kingdoms,  as  of  our  colonies  in 
America,  may  avail  themselves,  with  all  convenient  speed,  of  the 
great  benefits  and  advantages  which  must  accrue  therefrom  to 
their  commerce,  manufactures,  and  navigation  ;  we  have  thought 
fit,  with  the  advice  of  our  privy  council,  to  issue  this  oui|  royal 
proclamation,  hereby  to  publish  and  declare  to  all  our  lovipg  sub- 
jects, thnt  we  have,  with  tlie  advice  of  our  said  privy  council, 
granted  our  letters  patent  under  our  great  seal  of  Great  Britain, 
to  erect  within  the  countries  and  islands,  ceded  and  confirmed 
to  us  by  the  said  treaty,  four  distinct  noU  separate  governments, 
flyled  and  called  by  the  names  of  Quebec,  East  Florida,  West 
Florida,  and  Grenada,  and  limited  end  bounded  as  follows,  viz.    ^ 

First,  the  government  of  Quebec,-  bounded  on  the  Lab.^ador 
coast  by  the  river  St.  John,  and  from  thence  liy  a  line  drawn  from 


(    I 


Nor.' 

these 

Pa- 

and 

;onfi- 

£d- 

and 

d  by 

:hard 

iefin 

with 

;unto 


V-i.-^' 


the  head  of  that  river,  through  the  lake  St.  John,  to  the  south 
end  of  lbs  lake  Nipissim  ;  from  thence  the  said  line  crossing  the 
river  St.  Lawrence  and  the  lake  Champlain  in  forty  five  degrees 
of  north  latitude,  passes  along  the  highlands  which  divide  (he 
rivers  that  empty  themselves  into  the  said  Si.  Lawrence  from 
tho.u  which  fall  into  the  sea  ;  and  also  along  the  north  coast  of 
the  Baye  des  Chaleurs,  and  the  coast  of  tlie  Gulf  of  Si  Lawrence 
to  Cape  Rosier^s,  and  from  thence,  crossing!;  the  mouth  of  the 
river  St.  Lawrence,  by  the  west  end  of  the  island  of  Aatico8ti> 
terminates  at  the  aforesaid  river  St.  John. 

Rapresentation  to  his  Majesty  with  the  draught  of  a  commis- 
sion for  Charles  Lawrence,  Esq.  to  be  Governor  of  Nova  Sco- 
tia. 

To  the  King's  Most  Excellent  Majesty. 

May  it  please  Your  Majesty. 

Tn  obedience  to  your  Majesty's  Order  in  Council,  dated  the 
18th  inst.  we  have  prepared  the  draught  of  a  commission  for 
Charles  Lawrence,  Esq.  to  be  Captian  General  and  Governor 
in  chief  of  your  Majesty's  Province  of  Nova  Scotia,  in  Ameri- 
ca, which  being  in  the  usual  form,  we  herewith  humbly  fay  it  be- 
fore your  Majesty,  and  shall  prepare  the  necessary  instructions 
for  him  with  all  possible  dispatch. 
Which  is  most  humbly  submitted. 

(signed)        DUNK  HALIFAX, 
J.  PITT 

JAMES  OSWALD, 
ANDREW  STONE. 
Whitehall,  Bee.  18,  1765. 


^.- 


]VO.  7. 

Governor  Ellis'' »  Commission,  April  1,  1761. 

George  the  third  by  the  Grace  of  God,  of  Great  Britain, 
France  and  Ireland,  King,  Defender  of  the  Faith,  &,c.  To  our 
Trusty  and  well  beloved  Henry  Ellis,  Esq.  Greeting.  Whereas 
our  late  Royal  Grandfaiher  of  blessed  memory,  did  by  his  Let- 
ters Patent  u»ider  the  Great  Seal  of  Great  Britain  bearing  date 
at  Westminster  the  of  in  the  year  of  His 

Reign,  constitute  and  appoint  Charles  Lawrence,  Esq.  Captain 
General  and  Governor  in  Chief,  in  and  over  our  Province  of 
Nova  Scotia  or  Acadie  in  America,  with  ull  the  Rights,  Member* 


!^;- 


8 

aiMl  tippUrtbnances  whatever  thereunto  belonging  for  and  during 
His  late  Majesty's  Will  and  Pliiasure,  asby  the  said  recited  Let- 
ters Patent)  relation  being  thereunto  had,  may  more  fully  and  at 
large  appear  i  'Now  know  you  that  We  have  revoked  and  detei-- 
mined,  and  by  these  Presents^  do  revoke  tind  determine,  the  said 
recited  Letters  Patent,  and  every  clause^  article  and  thing  there^ 
in  contained,  and  Further  know  you  that  We,  reposing  especial 
Trust  and  confidence  in  the  Prudence,  Courage  and  Loyalty  of 
you  the  said  Henty  Ellis,  Esi{;irof  our  Especial  GraCe,  certain 
knowledge  and  mere  motion,  tiave  thought  St  to  constitute  and 
appoint  and  by  these  presents  do  constitute  and  appoint  you  the 
said  Henry  Ellis  to  be  our  C&ptain  General  and  Governor  in 
Chief,  in  and  over  our  Province  of  Nova  Scotia  or  Acadie  in 
America,  with  all  the  Rights,  Members  and  appurtenances  whaj* 
ever  thereunto  belonging. 


i)raught  of  a  Commission  for  Montague  Wilinot,  Esq.  to  he  Odi)- 
ernor  of  JVova  Scotia,  dated  October,  1762. 

George  the  third  by  the  Grace  of  Goi^,  of  Great  Britain, 
France  and  Ireland,  King,  Defender  of  the  Faith  ^c.  To  our 
Trusty  and  well  beloved  Montague  Wilmot,  Esq.  Greeting. — 
Whereas  we  did  by  our  Letters  Patent  under  the  Great  Seal  of 
Great  Britain  dated  at  Westminster  the  day  of 
in  the  first  year  of  our  Reign,  constitute  and  appoint  H^nry  El- 
lis, Esq.  Captain  General  and  Governor  in  Chief,  in  and  over  our 
Province  of  Nova  Scotia  or  Acadie  in  America,  with  all  the 
Rights,  Members  and  Appurtenances  thereunto  belonging  for 
and  during  our  will  and  pleasure,  as  by  the  said  recited  Letters 
Patent,  relation  being  thereunto  bad,  may  more  fully  and  at  large 
appear  :  Now  know  you  that  we  have  revoked  and  determined 
and  by  thesePresents  do  revoke  and  determine  the  said  recited 
Letters  Patent  and  every  clause,  article  and  thing  therein  con- 
tained. 

And  further  know  you,  that  We,  reposing  especiaj  Trust  and 
confidence  in  the  Prudence,  Courage  and  Loyalty  of  you  the 
said  Montague  Wilmot,  of  our  especial  Grace,  certain  knowledge 
and  mere  motion,  have  thought  fit  to  constitute  and  appoint,  and 
by  these  Presents,  We  do  constitute  and  appoint  youj  the  said 
Montague  Wilmot  to  be  our  Captain  General  and  Governor  \u 


>> 


>s. 


-■)• 
* 


9 


at 

id 
e- 
al 
of 
in 


Chief  in  adcI  over  our  Province  of  Nova  Scotia,  bouniivd  on  thU 
Westward  by  a  line  drawn  from  Cape  Sable  across  the  entrance 
oflbe  Bay  of  Fnndy,  to  the  month  of  the  river  St.  Croix,  by  tbn 
said  river  to  its  source  and  by  a  lioe  drawn  due  North  frbm 
thence  to  the  Sonthern  Boundary  of  Our  Province  of  Quebec,  lo 
the  Northward  by  the  same  boundary  as  far  as  the  Westem  ex- 
trtmity  of  the  Baye  des  ChaJeurs  :  To  the  Eastward  by  the  said 
Bay  and  tbe  6u}ph  of  St.  Lawrfnee  to  the  cape  or  promontory 
;iBalied  Ckpe  Breton,  in  the  Island  of  the  same  name,  including 
-that  Ulmd,  the  island  of  St.  Johns,  and  ail  other  Islands  witbiH 
six  Leaf  ues  of  the  coast,  and  to  the  southward  by  the  Atlantic 
Oc«a»  froro  said  Cape  to  Cape  Sable  aforesaid,  including  thehl- 
•nd  of  that  ifame  and  all  otter  Islands  within  forty  Leagues  of 
the  coast,  with  all  tbe  Rights,  Members  and  appurtenances  what- 
soever thereunto  belonging. 


s. 


Oovernor  Lt^es^  Commission. 

Oeorge  (he  third,  by  the  Grace  of  Goo,  of  Great  Britain,  Frsiic^ 
and  Ireland,  King,  Defender  of  the  Faith,  Su:. — ^To  our  trusty 
and  well  beloved  Francis  Legge,  £^sq.  Grectino  : 

Whereas,  we  did,  by  our  letters  patent,  under  our  great  seat 
«f  Great  Britain,  bearing  date  at  Westminster,  the  eleventh  day 
of  August,  in  the  sixth  year  uf  our  re^n — constitute  and  appoint 
WtlUam  Campbell,  Esq-  commonly  called  Lord  William  Camp- 
ball,  Caf>tain  General  and  Governor  in  Chief,  in  and  over  our 
Province  of  Nova  Scotia,  in  America,  bounded  on  the  westward 
by  a  Jine  drawn  from  Cape  Sable  across  tbe  entrance  of  tbe  bay 
of  FuHdy,to  the  mouth  ofUie  river  St.  Croix,  by  said  river  to  its 
source,  aod  by  a  line  drawn  due  north  from  thence  to  thesooth- 
evn  boundary  of  our  Colony  of  Quebec.  To  the  northward  by 
the  said  boundary,  as  far  as  the  western  extremity  of  tbe  baye  dci 
Cbaleurs.  To  tbe  eastward  by  the  said  bay  and  tbe  Gulph  pf , 
S4,.  Lawrence,  to  the  cape  or  promontory  called  Cape  Breton,  in 
the  island  of  that  name,  including  that  island,  the  island  of  Saint 
John,  and  all  other  islands  within  six  leagues  of  the  coast ;  and 
to  the  southward  by  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  from  tbe  said  Cape  to 
Cape  Sable  aforesaid,  including  the  island  of  that  name,  and  all 
other  islands  within  forty  leagues  of  the  coast,  with  all  the  rights, 
members  and  appurtenances,  whatsoever,  titereunto  belonging^ 
1 


itmi 


10 


for  and  during  our  will  and  pleasure,  as  by  the  said  recited  let- 
ters patent,  relation  being  thereunto  had,  may  more  fully  and  at 
large  appear  ;  now,  know  you,  that  we  have  revoked  aud  deter- 
mined, and  by  these  presents  do  revoke  and  determine,  the  said 
recited  letters  patent,  and  every  clause,  article  and  thing  therein 
contained,  and  further.  Know  you  that  We,  reposing  especial  con- 
fidence and  trust  in  the  prudence,  courage  and  loyalty  of  you, 
the  said  Francis  Legge,  of  our  especial  grace,  certain  knowledge 
and  mei^  motion,  We  have  thought  fit  to  constitute  and  appoint 
you,  the  said  Francis  Legge,  to  be  our  Captain  General  and  Gov- 
ernor in  Chief  of  our  said  paovince  of  Nova  Scotia,  bounded  <m 
the  westward  by  a  line  drawn  from  Cape  Sable  across  the  entrance 
of  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  to  the  mouth  of  the  river  St.  Croix,  by  the 
said  river  to  its  source,  and  by  a  line  drawn  due  north  from 
thence  to  the  southern  boundary  of  our  colony  of  Quebec  :  To 
the  northward  by  the  said  boundary,  as  far  as  the  western  ex- 
tremity of  the  Bay  des  Chaleurs.  To  the  Eastward,  by  the  said 
Bay,  and  the  Gulph  of  St.  Lawrence,  to  the  cape  or  promonto- 
ry— called  Cape  Breton,  in  the  island  of  that  name  including  that 
island  and  all  other  islands  within  six  leagues  of  the  coasty  except- 
ing our  said  Island  of  St.  John,  which  we  have  thought  fit  to  erect 
into  a  separate  government ;  and  to  the  southward  by  the  Atlan- 
tic Ocean,  from  the  said  Cape  to  Cape  Sable  aforesaid,  includ- 
ing the  island  of  that  name,  and  all  other  islands  within  forty 
leagues  of  the  coast.  With  all  the  rights,  members  and  appurte- 
nances v^hatsoever,  thereunto  belonging. 

And  we  do  hereby  require  and  command  you  to  do  and  execute 
all  things  in  due  manner,  that  shall  belong  unto  your  said  com" 
mand,  and  the  trust  we  have  reposed  in  you  according  to  the 
several  powers  and  authorities  granted  or  appointed  y«u  by  the 
present  Commission,  and  the  instructions  herewith  given  you  or 
by  stich  further  powers,  instructions  and  authorities,  as  shall  at 
any  time  hereafter  be  granted  or  appointed  you  under  our  signet 
and  Sign  Manual,  or  by  our  order  in  our  Privy  Council,  and  ac- 
cording to  such  reasonable  Laws  and  Statutes  as  are  now  in 
force,  or  shall  hereafter  be  made  or  agreed  upon  by  you,  with 
the  advice  and  consent  of  our  Council,  and  the  assembly  of  our 
said  Province  under  your  Government,  in  such  manner  and  form 
as  is  hereafter  expressed. 


n 

wo.  10. 

The  act  of  the  British  Parliament  of  the  lithyear  of  George  Zd. 
1774)  relating  to  the  province  of  Q^nebec  provide,'!   as  follotvf  : 

That  all  the  territories,  Islands  and  Counties  in  North  A- 
merica  belonging  to  the  Crown  of  Greai  Britain  bounded  on  the 
south  by  a  line  from  the  Bay  of  Chaleurs  along;  the  highlands 
which  divide  the  rivers  which  empty  themselves  into  the  river 
St.  Lawrence  from  those  which  fall  into  the  sea  ;  to  a  point  in  the 
45th  degree  of  North  Latitude  on  the  Easterif  branch  of  the  river 
Connecticut,  keeping  the  same  latitude  directly  west  through  Lake 
Champlain,  until  in  the  same  latitude  it  meets  the  river  St.  Law- 
rence, from  thence  up  the  Eastern  bank  of  said  river  to  Lake  On- 
tario, thence  through  the  Lake  Ontario  and  the  river  commonly 
called  Niagara,  &  thence  along  by  the  eastern  and  south  eastern 
bank  of  Lake  Erie,  following  the  said  bank  until  the  same  shall 
be  intersected  by  the  Northern  boundary  granted  by  the  Charter 
of  the  Province  of  Pennsylvania  in  case  the  same  shall  be  so  inter- 
sected, and  from  thence  along  the  said  North  and  West  bounda- 
ry of  the  said  Province,  until  the  said  western  boundary  striken 
the  Ohio  ;  but  in  case  the  said  Bank  of  said  Lake  shall  not  be 
found  to  be  st>  intersected,  then  following  the  said  bank  until  it 
shall  arrive  at  that  point  of  the  said  bank  which  shall  be  nearest 
to  the  Northwest  angle  of  the  said  Province  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  thence  by  a  right  line  to  the  said  northwest  angle  of  said 
Province,  and  thence  along  the  western  boundary  of  said  Prov- 
ince until  it  strikes  the  Ohio,  and  along  the  bank  of  the  said  riv- 
er westward  to  the  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  and  North  to  the 
southern  boundary  of  the  territory  granted  to  the  Merchants  ad- 
venturers of  England  trading  to  Hudson's  Bay  ;  and  also  all  such 
territories,  Islands  and  Countries  which  have  since  the  tenth  day 
of  February  176.3  been  made  part  of  the  Government  of  New- 
foundland, be  and  they  are  hereby  during  His  Majesty's  pleas- 
ure, annexed  to  and  made  a  part  of  the  Province  of  Quebec,  as 
created  and  established  by  the  »aid  Royal  Proclamation  of  the 
7  th  of  October,  1763. 


NO.  11. 

Extract  from  the  British  agenfs  argument  before  the  commit- 
sloners  under  the  fifth  article  of  the  treaty  of  amity,  commerce  and 
navigation,  concluded  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Brit" 
ain,  at  London,  JVov.  19,  1794. 

By  the  1 2th  Section  of  the  Act  entitled    An  Act  to  restrain 


12 


the  Trade  and  Commerce  of  the  provuice  of  Massachusetts-bay 
and  New-Hampshire,  and  Colonies  of  Connecticut,  and  Rhode 
Island  and  Providence  plantations  in  North  America,  to  Great 
Britain,  Ireland  and  the  British  Islands  in  the  West  Indies,  and  to 
prohibit  such  Provinces  and  Colonies  from  carrying  on  any  fish- 
ing on  the  banks  of  Newfoundland  or  other  places  therein  men- 
ioned,  under  certain  conditions  and  limitations.'  They  say,  it 
is  provided  and  enacted  '  that  the  River  which  emptieth  itself 
into  Passamacadie  or  Passamaquaddy-bay  on  the  western  side, 
and  is  commonly  called  or  known  by  the  name  of  St.  Croii  Rit- 
er  be  held  and  deemed  for  all  the  purposes  in  this  act  contained 
to  be  the  boundary  line  between  the  Provinces  of  MasiMthU'- 
setts-bay  and  Nova  Scotia. 

This  act  creates  no  new  boundary,  it  merely  recognizes,  con- 
firms and  establishes  the  River  St.  Croix  as  a  boundary  be- 
tween the  Provinces  of  Nova  Scotia  in  the  patent  to  Sir  Willian> 
Alexander  in  1621  ;  which  was  agreed  upon,  settled  known  and 
acknowledged,  as  the  boundary  between  the  Province  of  Nova 
Scotia  and  the  territory  of  New  England,  granted  to  the  coun- 
cil of  Plymouth  in  the  year  1620,  which  after  the  surrender  of 
their  Grand  Charter  was  the  boundary  between  Nova  Scotia  and 
the  territory  granted  to  the  Duke  of  York  in  1664,  which  was 
recognized  as  the  western  boundary  of  Nova  Scotii  by  the  char- 
ter of  William  and  Mary  to  the  Province  of  Massachusetts-bay 
in  1691,  and  which  from  the  treaty  of  Utrecht  in  1713  was  the 
boundary  between  the  Provinces  of  Massacliusetts-bay  and  No- 
va Scotia,  received  and  established  by  the  Croivn,  and  known, 
abknowledged  and  acquiesced  in  by  the  Government  of  Mas- 
sachusetts-bay. 

That  from  the  time  of  the  passing  of  this  act  of  Parliament 
in  1774,  the  boundaries  of  the  Province  Nova  Scotia  remained 
unaltered  to  the  treaty  of  peace  in  1783  will  not,  it  is  presumed, 
be  denied.  And  it  will  not  be  difBcnlt  now  to  show  that  the 
River  Stoudiac,  under  the  name  of  the  River  Saint  Croix  form- 
ed a  part  of  the  b6undary  described  in  that  treaty. 

It  is  sufficient  here  to  observe,  that  at  the  time  the  treaty  of 
Peace  was  made  in  1783,  the  Provinces  of  Quebec  and  Nova 
Scotia  belonged  to  and  were  in  the  possession  of  the  Crown  of 
Great  Britain,  and  that  his  Britannic  Majesty  at  that  time 
had  an  undoubted  right  to  cede  to  the  United  States  of  A- 
merica  such  part  of  thest;  territories  as  he  might  think  fit,  and 
that  in  making  the  cession  of  the  territory  comprised  within  the 
boundaries  of  the  United  States  as  described  iu  the  second  ar- 
ticle of  th*  treaty  of  peace,  his   Majesty    must  be  supposed  to 


13 


have  used  the  terms  describing  these  boundaries  in  the  sense  in 
which  they  had  been  uniformly  understood  in  the  British  Nation, 
and  recognized  in  public  documents  and  acts  of  government. 
In  this  sense,  and  in  no  other,  could  they  have  then  been  under> 
stood,  or  can  they  now  be  claimed  or  insisted  upon  by  the  Uni- 
ted States.  In  this  sense,  and  in  no  other,  is  his  Majesty  bound 
to  give  the  possession.  Whatever  river  was  at  that  time  known  and 
recognized  by  his  Majesty  and  the  British  Government  as  the* 
River  St.  Croix,  forming  a  boundary  between  the  province  of 
Massachusetts>bay  and  Nova  Scutia,  that  River,  and  no  other, 
can  now  be  claimed  ds  a  part  of  the  Eastern  boundary  of  the 
United  States.  It  is  sufficient  that  in  this  act  of  Parliament  the 
River  Saint  Croix  is  described  by  a  particular  location  and 
boundaries  which  cannot  be  mistaken,  known  to  both  parties  at 
the  time,  and  assented  to  on  the  part  of  the  United  States  by  their 
accepting  the  act  and  not  giving    any  local  designation  of  the 

.  River  which  they  now  claim,  or  of  any  other  river  than  that 
thus  ascertained  by  precise  description,  and  known  by  them  to> 
have  been  established  and  at  the  time  contemplated  by  Great 
Britain  as  the  boundary  between  the  provinces. 

If  this  principle  were  once  departed  from,  there  would  be  no 
check  to  construction  on  the  subject,  though  it  would   be  fortu- 

"nate  to  his  Majesty's  interests  if  he  were  not  thus  bound,  as  it 
might  be  clearly  shown  in  that  case  that  the  River  Penobscot, 
once  indiscriminately  with  other  Rivers  upon  this  const   called 

;  the  St.  Croik,  was  the  true  boundary,  by  which  Nova  Scotia  or 
Acadie  was  ceded  to  his  Majesty  by  the  treaty  of  Utrecht)  and 
ought  in  such  case,  by  the  principles  of  the  law  of  Nations  to  be 
established  as  the  Eastern  boundary  of  the  United  States. 

But  the  words  in  the  twelfth  section  of  the  Act  of  Parliament 
above  recited  do  not  in  any  wise  relate  to,  or  suppose  any  sub- 
Msting  doubts  about  the  locality  or  identity  of  the  River,  called 
or  known  by  the  name  of  the  St.  Croix  River,  but  have  refer- 
ence, as  has  been  fully  shown  to  the  ancient  limits  of  the  Province 
of  Nova  Scotia  as  e^ablished  by  the  original  grant  of  it  to  Sir 
William  Alexander  froni  King  James  the  first,  in  the  year  1621, 
recognized  in  all  subsequent  public  documents  and  transactions 
relating  thereto,  and  claimed  by  the  Province  of  Massachusetts- 
bay  aa  their  Eastern  boundary  under  the  Charter  of  King  Wil- 
liam afld  Queen  Mary  in  1691. 


t-* 


EXTRACT,  &c. 

The  most  accustomed  and  convenient  rule  in   cases   of  this 
kind  is  to  leave  to  each  power  respectively  the  sources  of  those 


14 


Rivers  that  empty  themselves,  or  whose  mouths  are  within  its 
Territory  upon  the  Sea  Coast,  if  it  can  be  done  consistently 
with,  or  in  conformity  with  the  intent  of  the  treaty.  If  it  can 
be  shewn  that  this  rule  in  the  present  case,  can  be  adopted  con- 
sistently with  what  has  been  shown  to  be  the  intent  of  the  treaty, 
it  will  form  an  unanswerable  argument  in  favor  of  a  compliance 
with  the  rule,  more  especially  if  a  different  construction  will  in- 
volve the  inconveniences  intended  to  be  avoided  by  so  just  a 
principle  of  interpretation. 

Let  us  in  this  view  attend  to  the  words  made  use   of  in  the 
Treaty  describing  the  first  station  or  boundary  from   which  all 
the  other  boundaries  of  the  United  States  are  to  be  traced,  viz. 
From  the  Northwest   angle  of  Nova    Scotia,   vix.   That   ojigle 
which  is  formed  by  a  line  drawn  due  north,  from  the  source   of 
St.  Croix  River  to  the  highlands,  which  divide  those  Rivers  that 
empty  themselves  into    the  River  St.  Lawrence,    from  those 
which  fall  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean.       It  appears  from  a  map  ac- 
tually compiled  in  most  instances  from   actual   surveys,  an  au- 
thentic copy  of  which   is   now  before   the  Board,  that   a  line 
drawn  due  north  from  the  source  of  the  Cheputnatecook  River, 
or  northern  branch  of  the  River  Scoudiao  or  St.  Croix  will  not 
intersect  the  highlands  here  described,  but  will  intersect  the  Riv- 
er Restigouche,  which  empties  itself  into  the  bay  of  Chaleurs, 
which  falls  into  the  Gulph  of  St.  Lawrence,  and  will  also  inter- 
sect the  Metabediac  Lake  which  is  the  head  or  source  of  a  Riv- 
er likewise  falling  into  the  bay  of  Chalcurs.     In  addition  there- 
fore to  the  argument  drawn  from  the  inconvenience  resulting  from 
its  cutting   off  the  sources   of  these  Rivers,   which   discharge 
themselves  within  the  British  territory  upon  the  sea  coast ;  the 
source  of  this  branch  of  the  Scoudiac  or  St.  Croix,  cannot  be 
th-j  source  intended  by  the  treaty  of  peace,  because  in  such  case 
we  cannot  arrive  at  the  Northwest  angle  of  Nova  Scotia,  which 
is  the  first  bound  or  station  upon  which  the  other  boundaries  de- 
pend, as  they  must  be  traced  from  thence,  that  is  to  say    '  that 
angle  which  is  found  by  a  line  drawn  due  north  from  the  source 
of  St.  Croix  River  to  the  highlands  which  divide  those  rivers  that 
empty  themselves  into  the  river  St  Lawrence  from  those  which 
fall  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean.'    For,  if  the  fact  be  as  above  stated, 
should  a  line  be  traced  due  north  from  the  source  of  the  Cheput- 
natecook, if  the  high  lands  in  such  case  are  on   this  side  or  to  the 
southward  of  the  river  Restigouche,  they  will  divide    the  rivers 
that  fall  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  or  bay  ofFundy,  from  those  that 
fall  into  the  GuJph  of  St.  Lawrence  ;  if  they  are  between  the  river 
Re3tiQ;onche  and  tho  INfetabediac  lake  they  will  divide  the  rivers. 


!  I 


15 

which  from  different  sources  unite  and  fall  into  the  Gitlph  of  St. 
Lawrence,  if  they  are  beyond  thi»  lake,  they  will  divide  the  rivers 
which  fall  into  the  Oulph  of  tSt  Lavn-ence,  from  those  which  fall 
into  the  river  St  Lawrence  ;  the  requisite  angle  therefore  will  not 
be  (bund  upon  this  line.  But  if  a  line  is  traced  due  north  from 
the  source  of  the  western  or  main  branch  of  the  river  Sroadic  or 
St,  Croix,  it  will  run  to  the  westward  of  the  sources  of  aU  the  riv- 
ers that  fall  into  the  gulph  of  St.  Lawrence  and  will  strike  the 
highlands  which  divide  the  rivers  that  fall  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean 
from  those  which  empty  themselves  into  the  river  St  Lawrence 
and  consequently  give  the  requisite  angle  or  first  bound. 

There  is  certainly  a  clear  distinction  in  the  Grant  to  Sir  Wm. 
Alexander  between  the  river  Saint  Lawrence  and  the  Gulph  of 
Saint  Lawrence  or  rather  of  Canada  ;  the  boundary  line  by  this 
grant,  after  striking  that  river  is  to  follow  the  course  of  it  East- 
ward to  Gaspee,  which  lies  to  the  Northward  of  the  bay  of 
Chaleurs  and  afterwards  the  Gulph  is  mentioned,^  and  the  words 
made  use  of  in  the  Grant  seem  to  import  a  considerable  distance 
Eastward,  between  the  line  where  it  strikes  the  River  of  Canada 
or  Saint  Lawrence  and  Gaspee. 

It  is  far  from  being  certain  that  the  ridge  of  high  lands  whiclr 
divides  the  Rivers  that  empty  themselves  into  the  river  St. 
Lawrence  from  those  which  fall  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  is  con- 
tinued to  the  Eastward  of  the  sources  of  the  Rivers  which  faU 
into  the  Gulph  of  St.  Lawrence,  but  whether  thus  continued  or 
not,  the  inference  is  clear  from  the  foregoing  facts  and  reasoning 
that  neither  the  Cheputnatecook  nor  consequently  the  Magagua- 
davic  or  any  other  River  whose  source  is  Eastward  of  the  source 
of  the  Cheputnatecook  can  be  the  River  intended  under  the  name 
of  the  River  St.  Croix  in  the  Treaty  of  peace. 

But  to  apply  these  facts  to  the  point  more  immediately  under 
consideration,  whether  a  line  due  north  from  the  source  of  the 
western  or  main  branch  of  the  River  Scoudiac  or  St.  Croix,  will 
leave  to  each  of  the  parties  to  the  treaty  the  sources  of  those 
Rivers  that  empty  themselves,  or  whose  mouths  are  within  its 
territory  upon  the  Sea  Coast  resppctively. 

Tlie  effect  so  far  as  it  regards  the  United  States  is  completely 
secured  by  the  Treaty  in  all  events,  and  thence  we  have  further 
rt^asou  to  suppose  it  was  intended  to  be  reciprocal  in  this  respect, 
if  a  just  interpretation  will  warrant  it. 

A  line  due  north  from  the  sourceof  the  western  or  main  branch 
of  the  Schoudiac  or  St.  Croix,  will  fully  secure  this  effect  to  the 
United  States  in  every  instance,  and  also  to  Great  Britain  in  all 
instances  except  in  that  of  the  river  St.  John,  wherein  it  becomes 


I,  i 


u> 


■  -T 


'^ 


tmpo$»ihle  by  reason  that  the  sourceg  of  this  river  ar«  to  the  west- 
ward, not  only  of  the  western  boundary  line  of  Nova  Scotia,  biit 
of  the  Bources'of  the  Penobscot  and  even  of  the  Kennebec,  so  that 
this  north  line  must  of  necessity  cross  the  St.  John,  but  it  will 
cross  it  in  a  part  of  it  almost  at  the  foot  of  the  highlands  and 
where  it  ceases  to  be  navigable.  But  if  a  north  line  is  traced 
frrnn  the  source  of  the  Cheputnatecook,  it  will  not  only  cross  the 
river  St.  John,  within  about  6fty  miles  from  Frederickton,  the 
metropolis  of  New  Brunswick,  but  will  cut  off  the  sources  of  the 
rivers  which  fall  into  the  Bay  of  Chaleurs,  if  not  of  many  others, 
probably  of  the  Meramichi,  among  them  which  fall  into  the  Gulf 
of  St.  Lawrence,  and  thereby  bo  productive  of  inconvenient  con- 
seqaeoces  to  the  two  powers,  if  not  of  contention  between  them, 
instead  of  <  terminating  sheir  differences  in  such  a  manner,  as 
may  be  best  calculated  to  produce  mutual  satisfaction  and  go»d 
understanding'  wh*K.h  is  one  of  the  principal  and  avowed  objects 
of  the  Treaty. 

Had  the  treaty  intended  that  this  north  line  should  intersect  a 
number  of  rivers  which  empty  their  waters  through  a  British  prov- 
ince into  the  sea,  a  right  of  navigation  or  passage  down  those 
rivers  would  doubtless  have  been  secured  to  the  United  States 
by  the  treaty.  That  this  was  not  the  intention  of  the  treaty,  not 
only  appears  from  the  facts  and  reasoning  that  have  already  been 
adduced,  but  from  a  further  consideration,  that  in  most,  if  not  all 
the  maps  of  the  interior  Country  published  before  tbe  year  1763 
although  the  sourses  of  the  river  Saint  Croix  are  very  inaccurate- 
ly laid  down,  still  it  is  very  uniformly  made  to  terminate  in  a 
lake  near  the  eastern  branch  of  the  Penobscot,  and  a  line  drawn 
North  from  that  termination  upon  those  maps,  will  not  intersect 
any  of  the  rivers  which  empty  themselves  into  the  sea  to  the 
eastward  of  the  mouth  of  the  river  Saint  Croix  exeept  the  river 
Saint  Johns.  This  furnishes  an  unanswerable  argument  no  far 
as  any  fair  conclusions  can  be  drawn  from  those  maps  in  proof 
not  only  that  the  river  Scondiac,  is  the  true  ancient  river  Saint 
Croix  and  consequently  intended  by  the  Treaty  ot  Peace  under 
the  name  of  Saint  Croix,  but  (hat  its  true  source,  is  «tpofi  that  ' 
western  branch  in  a  Lake,  near  to  an  eastern  branch  of  the  River 
Penobscot. 

If  then  there  were  any  doL'bt  remaining  which  is  tbe  true 
source  of  the  River  Saint  Croix  tiom  which  the  line  due  north 
to  the  highlands  is  to  be  traced,  the  inconveniences  above  men- 
tioned would  form  the  strongest  argument,  against  a  decision 
from  which  they  woald  result,  and  in  favor  of  that  by  which -they 
will  be  avoided  ;  much  more  so  when  the  latter  decision  will  cor- 


:f 


'/ 


17   ,    .      , 

rrspond  wiili  and  be  suppoited  by  so  many  other  inconte»ilble 
proofs  ancf  argumentg  clearly  establishing  the  River  Scoudiac  to 
the  source  of  the  western  branch,  to  be  the  river  Saint  Croix 
truly  intended  under  that  name,  in  the  treaty  of  Peace  and  form- 
ing a  part  of  the  boundary  therein  described  ;  and  the  Norih- 
we^-l  angle  of  Nova  Scotia  mentioned  in  the  same  Treaty  to  be 
formed  by  a  line  drawn  due  north  from  that  souree  lo  the  high- 
lands described  in  the  Treaty. 

Whether  therefore  we  follow  the  words  of  the  grant  to  Sir 
William  Alexander,  by  which  we  must  be  at  all  events  conclud- 
ed ;  or  follow  the  main  branch  of  the  river  retaining  the  same 
name  ;  or  are  governed  by  the  uniform  decision  of  geographers 
and  historians  of  credit  upon  the  subject,  and  the  rules  and  prin- 
ciples of  the  Law  of  Nations  for  the  interpretation  of  Treaties, 
we  shall  be  led  to  the  same  place  as  the  source  of  the  River  from 
which  the  line  due  north  must  be  traced  to  the  northwest  angle 
of  Nova  Scotia. 

But  even  if  it  had  not  be^n  known  at  the  time  of  the  grant  to 
Sir  Wm.  Alexander  that  this  river  had  two  branches,  and  the 
grant  had  been  expressed  generally,  to  the  furthest  source  of 
the  river  Saint  Croix,  still  the  main  branch,  or  that  retaining 
the  name  of  the  river  at  its  mouth  must  have  been  followed  to  its 
source,  not  only  to  satisfy  the  words  of  the  grant,  but  to  give  it 
•♦8  intended  construction  and  operation. 

It  clearly  appears  to  have  been  the  intention  of  the  grant  to 
give  as  large  a  territory  to  be  erected  into  the  province  of  Nova 
Scotia  as  the  R'ver  Saint  Croix  could  give  by  tracing  a  line  due 
north  from  its  source  to  the  great  river  Canada,  and  it  is  express- 
ly provided  inthe  grant,contrary  to  the  general  rules  for  the  con- 
struction of  the  Kings  grants  that  ifany  questions  or  doubts 
/,  should  thereafter  arise  upon  the  interpretation  or  construction,  of 
*  any  clause  contained  in  the  grant,  that  they  should  all  be  taken 
and  interpreted  in  the  most  extensive  sense  and  in  favour  of 
the  said  Sir  Wm.  Alexander. 

Having  traced  the  original  boundaries  of  the  province  of  No- 
va Scotia,  to  the  farthest  source  or  spring  of  the  river  St.  Croix, 
upon  the  western  branch  thereof,  and  thereby  found  the  utmost 
western  limits  of  the  Province,  it  remains  only  to  discover  its  ut- 
most J^orthern  limits  in  order  to  ascertain  the  Northwest  angle 
we  are  in  search  of. 

The  Province  ofJ^ova    Scotia   at  tht  time  of  the  Treaty  in 

1783,   was,  as  has  already  appeared  bounded  to  the    northioard 

by  the  southern  boundary   of  the  province  of   Quebec,   which 

boundary  was  established  by  the  Royal  proclamation  of  the  7th 

3 


I' 


fF-:'i;;i^Mii 


1« 


i\  i 


October,  1763,  and  confirmed  by  the  act  of  the  14th  tieo.  3  C. 
83,  passed  in  the  same  year  with  the  act  of  parliament  already 
cited,  by  which  it  is  enacted  that  all  the  territories,  islands  and 
countries  in  North  America,  belonging  to  the  Crown  of  Great 
Britain  bounded  on  the  South  by  a  line  from  the  bay  of  Chaleurs 
along  the  highlands  which  divide  the  rivers  that  empty  them- 
selves into  the  River  St.  Lawrence,  from  tlioRe  which  fall  into  the 
sea  to  a  point  in  forty  five  degrees  of  Northern  latitude  on  the 
eastern  bank  of  the  River  Connecticut,  &c.  be  annexed  to,  and 
made  a  part  and  parcel  of  the  Province  of  Quebec. 

As  then  at  the  Treaty  of  Peace  in  1783,  the  northern  limit 
of  the  Province  of  Nova  Scotia,  was  "  a  line  along  the  highlands 
which  divide  the  rivers  that  empty  themselves  into  the  river 
S  aim  Lawrence,  from  those  which  fall  into  the  sea,"  it  unquea- 
tionably  foliows,  that  the  northwest,  angle  of  Nova  Scotia,  at  the 
time  of  the  Treaty  of  Peace  in  1783,  wds  that  angle  which  was 
formed  by  a  line  drawm  due  north  from  the  source  of  the  river 
Saint  Croix  to  those  highlands.  If  we  now  compare  this  angle 
with  the  northwest  angle  of  Nova  Scotia,  described  in  the  Trea- 
ty of  Peace,  viz  :  That  angle  whiclris  formed  by  a  line  drawn 
due  north  from  the  source  of  Saint  Croix  river  to  the  same  high- 
lands, can  it  be  said  with  any  degree  of  propriety,  that  "  the 
limits  and  boundaries  of  the  province  of  Nova  Stotia  were  un- 
known at  the  time  of  the  treaty  of  peace  in  1783,  and  that  it 
therefore  became  necessary  to  give  it  a  western  boundary  by  the 
treaty  itself,  in  these  words,  to  wit :  that  angle  which  is  formed 
by  a  line  due  north  from  the  source  of  the  rvver  Saint  Croix  to 
the  highlands  .?" 

Cat!  it  be  believed,  or  for  a  moment  imagined,  that  in  the 
course  of  human  events,  so  exact  a  coincidence  could  have  hap- 
pened between  the  actual  boundaries  of  the  province  of  Nova 
Scotia  and  the  boundaries  of  it  described  in  this  treaty,  if  the 
latter  had  not  been  dictated  and  regulated  by  the  former  f 

Can  any  man  hesitate  to  say  he  is  convinced  that  the  Com- 
missioners at  Paris  in  1783,  in  forming  the  2d  article  of  the  trea- 
ty of  peace,  in  which  they  have  so  exactly  described  this  north- 
west angle,  had  reference  to  and  were  governed  by  the  bounda- 
ries of  Nova  Scotia  as  described  in  the  grant  to  Sir  Wm.  Alexan- 
der, and  the  subsequent  alteration  of  the  northern  boundary  by 
the  erection  of  the  province  of  Qeebec  ? 

Will  not  this  conviction  become  irresistible,  wlien  he  adverts 
to  the  reservation  made  to  his  Majesty  in  this  articleof  the  trea- 
ty, ''  of  such  Islands,  as  then  were,  or  theretofore  had  been, 
within  the  limits  of  the  said  province  of  Nova  Scotia,  and  to  the 


ii 


1- 


p 


10 


I 


Islands  inchuled  and  comprehended  within  those  limits  as  des- 
cribed in  the  grant  to  Sir  VViltiam  Alcxnni'er,  some  of  which 
might  have  belonged  to  the  United  States,  as  lying  within  the 
limits  of  those  States,  but  for  the  exception  of  them  in  the  trea- 

.  Let  us  now  compare  the  western  boundaries  of  the  province 
of  Nova  Scotia,  granted  to  Sir  William  Alexander,  with  the  cor- 
responding ep  itern  boundaries  of  the  United  States.  As  the 
river  St.  Crc  ^:  is  not  included  in  the  grant  to  Sir  William  Al- 
exAoder,  as  slated  by  the  agent  of  the  United  States ;  and  as 
it  was  not  intended  to  be  included,  because  as  has  been  made 
to  appear,  this  river  St.  Croix  was  an  agreed  boundary  between 
the  province  of  Nova  Scotia  erected  by  this  grant,  and  the  ter- 
ritory of  New  England,  granted  to  the  grand  Council  of  Plyra- 
outh>  it  follows  that  the  line  of  this  grant  to  Sir  William  Alexan- 
der, must  legally  be  construed  to  run  through  the  middle  of  the 
river,  the  river  not  being  assigned  inclusively  to  cither  territory. 

Upon  this  principle  then,  this  part  of  the  western  boundaries 
of  the  province  of  Nova  Scotia,  in  the  grant  to  Sir  William  Al- 
exander, will  be  a  noith^line,  across  the  mouth  of  the  Bay  of 
Fundy,  to  the  river  commonly  railed  by  the  name  of  the  St. 
Croix,  and  through  the  same,  to  the  farthest  source  or  spring 
upon  the  westei\n  branch  thereof,  including  and  comprehending 
all  Islands  wjthin  ^ix  leagues  to  the  westward,  northward  and 
eastward,  and  within  forty  leag.ues  to  the  southward  of  any  part 
-  of  the  premises  described  in  the  grant. 

And  the  corrpspondiog.  Eastern  boundary  of  the  United 
States,  by  the  second  article  of  the  Treaty  of  Peace,  is,  "  a  line 
to  be  drawn  along  the  middle  of  the  river  Saint  Ctoix,  from  its 
moutk  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  to  its  source,  including  such  Isl- 
ands as  then  were,  or, theretofore  had  been,  within  the  limits  of 
the  said  Province  of'Nova  §.cotia,"  referring  to  the  province  of 
Nova  Scotia,  of  which  the  north-west  angle  before  described 
was  made  the  first  station  or  boundary,  from  which  the  bounda- 
ries of  the  United  States  were  traced. 

As  it  has  already  been  shown  that  the  source  of  this  river 
Saint  Croix,  otherwise  called  Scoudiac,  upon  the  western 
branch,  and  near  to  a  branch  of  the  Penobscot,  to  which  there 
is  a  portage  or  carrying  place  from  it ;  the  same  place  is  evi- 
dently contemplated  as  the  spurce  from  which  the  line  due  north 
to  the  highlands,  is  to  be  drawn,  both  in  the  grant  to  Sir  Will- 
iam Alexander,  and  in  the  2d  article  of  the  Treaty  of  Peace ; 
and  consequently  this  part  of  the  western  boundary  of  Nova 
Scotia  in  the  grant,  is  precisely  the  same  with  the  correspond- 
ing eastern  loundarv  of  the  United  States  in  the  treaty. 


if 


^0 


Thus  the  first  principle  stated  in  this  argument  is  established 
beyond  all  contradiction,  'that  by  the  second  article  of  the 
Treaty  of  peace,  it  was  intended  that  no  part  of  the  province  of 
Nova  Scotia  should  be  thereby  ceded  to  the  United  States,  but 
that  the  province  of  Nova  Scotia  according  to  its  ancient  limits, 
should  be  and  remain  a  part  of  the  territories  and  dominions  of 
his  Majesty,  as  his  Majesty  had  before  that  lime  held  and  pos- 
sessed the  same.* 

And  this  principle  being  established,  the  necessity  of  examin- 
ing into  and  ascertaining  precisely  the  ancient  boundaries  of  the 
province  of  Nova  Scotia,  in  the  manner  that  it  has  been  done, 
is  clear  and  obvious,  and  the  result  of  that  eKaminntion  com- 
pared with  the  boundaries  in  the  treaty  of  peace,  thus  serves  in 
its  turn  to  confirm  the  principle. 

This  principle  being  evident  from  the  words  of  the  Treaty 
of  peace  itself,  no  explanation  of  the  treaty,  by  either  party, 
inconsistent  ;ith  this  true  and  obvious  intention  of  it,  can  be  re- 
ceived consistently  with  any  of  the  rules  and  principles  of  the 
laws  of  nations,  universally  acknowledged  and  admitted  obliga- 
tory in  suth  cases,  as  has  already  been  made  to  appear,  and 
will  be  more  fully  shown,  in  a  more  particular  reply  to  the  ar- 
guments advanced  in  support  of  the  claim  of  the  United  States, 

Fr(»m  the  foregoing  facts  and  arguments,  the  lader-written 
agent  feels  himself  warranted  in  concluding  that  the  river  Scou- 
diac,  is  the  river  truly  intended  under  the  name  of  the  river 
Saint  Croix,  in  the  Treaty  of  Peace,  and  forming  a  part  of  the 
boundary  therein  described ;  and  that  the  norih-west  angle  of 
NovL  Scotia,  intended  by  the  treaty, is  that  angle  which  is  tbrjn- 
ed  by  a  line  drawn  due  north  from  the  farthest  source  or  spring 
of  the  western  or  main  branch  of  the  Scoudiac,  to  tiie  highlands 
described  in  the  treaty. 

As  the  final  declaration  to  be  made  by  this  honorable  Board, 
deciding  what  river  is  the  river  Saint  Croix  intended  by  the 
Treaty  of  Peace,  musi  particularize  the  latitude  aud  longitude  of 
its  fuuuti),  as  well  as  of  its  source,  it  may  be  proper  and  perhaps 
necessary  in  this  place,  to  say  a  few  words  respecting  the  mouth 
of  the  river  Scoudiac,  which  has  been  so  fully  proved  to  be  the 
rivsr  Saint  Croix,  intended  by  the  treaty. 

By  an  inspection  of  the  plan  of  the  sm  veys  now  before  the 
Board,  it  will  appear,  in  conformity  to  Champlain's  anihority, 
that  its  proper  mouth,  ;s  where  it  empties  itself  into  that  part  of 
Passamaquady  bay  which  was  formerly  called  the  bay  of  Saint 
Croix,  and  is  now  calied  Saint  Andrews  bay  ;  and  this  mouth  is 
traversed  by  a  line  drawn  from  the  north  point  of  Saint  An- 


drews  hftibor,  commonly  called  Joe's  point,  across  the  river  to 
the  opposite  point  upon  the  western  shore  near  to  the  place 
where  Mr.  Brewer  now  lives.  In  conHrmatiun  of  this,  the  In- 
dians produced  and  examined  before  the  Board,  as  witnesses 
on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  have  testified  that  from  Brew- 
er's upwards,  tlie  waters  are  called  Scoudiac ;  and  from  thence 
downwards,  Passamaquoddy  Bay. 

And  the  Author  of  the  history  of  the  district  of  Maine,  also 
speaks  of  fhe  proper  month  of  ;his  river  a«  being  at  or  near  St, 
Andrews,  where  he  says,  "Thv  English  now  possess  the  coun- 
try as  far  west  as  the  east  bank  of  the  Scoudiac  at  its  month." 

It  being  established  that  the  river  Scoudiac,  under  the  name 
of  the  river  St.  Croix,  nmde  a  part  of  the  original  boundaries 
of  the  province  of  Nova  Scotia,  and  continued  to  be  a  part  of  its 
western  boundary  at  the  time  of  the  treaty  of  pe.ice  in  1783,  it 
may  be  proper  now  to  enquire  whetliir  that  Provinfe  has*  in  fact, 
exercised  its  jurisdiction  agreeably  to  tjjose  limits:  and  to  as- 
certain this  fact,  as  far  as  it  regards  this  western  boundary,  we 
can  go  no  further  back  with  any  degree  of  accuracy,  than  the 
treaty  of  peace  in  1783;  for  previous  to  the  war,  immediately 
precedintr  that  period,  this  part  of  Nova  Scotia,  or  Acadie,  had 
been  with  little  interruption,  in  the  hands  of  the  French,  not- 
.vitlistanding  the  treaty  of  Utrecht,  by  which  it  wast'ully  ceded 
to  Great  Britain. 

The  whole  rountry  coming  Into  the  possession  of  his  Britan- 
ic  Majesty,  by  the  treaty  of  17()3,  we  are  from  ihetice  to  date 
our  enquiries  respecting  the  jurisdiction,  in  fact  exercised  over 
this  part  of  the  country,  dnwii  to  the  peace  in  the  year  1783. 

The  Boundaries  oi  the  Province  of  Nova  Scotia,  as  describ- 
ed in  Uie  commissions  to  the  Governors  of  it,  from  his  Majes- 
ty during  that  period,  conformed  as  we  have  seen  to  the  bounda- 
ries of  it,  as  dt  scribed  in  the  grant  to  Sir  William  Alexander, 
without  any  material  variation,  except  the  alteration  of  its 
northern  limits  occasioned  by  the  ereciion  of  the  province  of 
Quebec. 


Copy  of  the  Declaration  executed  by  the  Commisstonen—^Viz. 

By  Thomas   Barclay,  David  Howell,    and    Egbert  Benson, 
Commissioners  apppinted  in  pursuance  of  the  fifth  article  of  the 


2ii      -^ 

Treaty  of  Amity,  ComiU£rcc  and  navigation  between  His  Brit- 
annic Majesty  and  the  United  States  of  America,  finally  to  de- 
cide the  question  'What  River  was  truly  intended  under  the 
name  of  the  River  Saint  Croix  mentioned  in  the  Treaty  of 
Peace  between  His  Majesty  and  the  United  States,  and  forming 
a  part  of  the  boundary  therein  described' 

DECLARATION. 

We,  the  said  Commissioners,  having  been  sworn  'impartially 
to  examine  and  decide  the  said  question  according  to  such  evi- 
dence as  sliouid  respectively  be  laid  before  us  on  the  part  of  the 
British  Government  and  the  United  States,  and  having  heard 
the  evidence  v/hich  hath  been  laid  before  us  by  the  agent  of  his 
Majesty  and  the  agent  of  the  United  States,  re-^pectively  appoint- 
ed and  authori?ed  to  manage  the  business  on  bohalf  of  the  re- 
spective Governments  Have  decided,  and  hereby  do  decide.  The 
Kiver  herein  after  particularly  described  and  mentioned  to  be 
the  river  truly  intended  under  the  name  of  the  River  Saint  Croix, 
in  the  said  Treat)'  of  Peace  and  forming  a  part  of  the  Boun- 
dary therein  described.  That  is  to  say,  The  mouth  of  the  said 
River  is  in  PcLssamaquoddy  Bay  at  a  point  of  land  called  Joe's 
Point,  about  one  mile  northward  from  the  northern  part  of 
Saint  Andrews  Island,  and  in  the  Latitude  of  forty  five  degree?, 
five  minutes  and  five  seconds  north,  and  in  the  Longitude  of  six- 
ty-seven degrees  twelve  minutes  and  thirty  seconds  west  from 
the  Royal  Observatory  at  Greenwich  in  Great  Britain,  and  three 
degrees  fifty  four  minutes  and  fifteen  seconds  east  from  Harvard 
College  in  the  University  of  Cambridge  in  the  State  of  Massa- 
chusetts, and  the  course  of  the  said  river,  up  from  its  said  mouth, 
is  northerly  to  a  point  of  land  called  the  Devil's  Head,  then  turn- 
ing the  said  point,  is  westerly  to  where  it  divides  into  two  streams, 
the  one  coming  from  the  westward  and  the  other  coming  from 
the  northward,  having  the  Indian  name  of  Cheputnaiecook  or 
Chibniiicook,  as  the  same  may  be  variously  spell ;  then  up  the 
said  stream  so  coming  from  the  northward  to  its  source,  which  is 
at  a  stake  near  a  yellow  birch  tree,  hooped  with  iron,  an<l  mark- 
ed S.  T.  and  3.  H.  1797,  by  Samuel  Titcomb  and  John  Harris, 
the  surveyors  employed  to  survey  the  abovementioned  stream 
coniine  from  the  northward.  And  the  said  river  is  designated 
on  the  map  hereunto  annexed  and  hereby  referred  to,  as  farther 
descriptive  of  it  by  the  letters  ABC  D  E  F  G  H  I  K  and  b. 
The  letter  A  being  at  its  said  source,  and  the  course  and  distance 
of  the  said  source,  from  the  Island  at  the  confiuence  of  the  a- 
^Kjvementioned  two  streams  is,  as  laid  down  on    the    said    map, 


north  five  degrees  and  about  fifteen  minutes,   west  by  the   mag- 
net, about  forty  eight  miles  and  one  quarter. 

In  testimony  whereof,  we  htive  hereunto  set  our  hands  and 
seals,  at  Providence,  in  the  Stu^of  Rhode  Islatod.  the  twenty- 
fifth  day  of  October,  in  the  year  one  thousand  seven  hui.  'red 
and  ninety-eight. 

(Signed)        THOMAS  BARCLAY,  L.  S. 
DAVID  HOWELL,  L.  S. 
.      EGBERT  BENSON,  L  S. 
Witness,  Edward  Winslow,  Secretary  to  the  Comrtiissioners. 


BTO.  13. 

•  Copy  of  unexecuted  Declaration. 

*  By  the  commissioners  appointed  in  pursuance  of  the  fifth  arti- 
cle of  the  treaty  of  Amity,  eommerce  and  navigation  be- 
tween his  Britanic  Majesty  and  the  United  States  of  America, 
finally  to  decide  the  question.  What  river  was  truly  intended 
under  the  name  of  the  river  St.  Croix,  mentioned  in  the  treaty  of 
peace  between  bis  Majesty  and  the  United  States,  and  forming 
a  part  of  the  boundary  therein  described.'  ^ 

DECLARATION. 

We,  the  said  Commissioners,  having  been  sworn  impartially,  to 
examine  and  decide  the  said  question,  according  to  such  evi- 
dence as  should  respectively  be  laid  before  us,  on  the  pai  i  of  the 
British  Government  and  of  the  United  Stands,  and  havln/^  heard 
the  evidence  which  has  been  laid  before  us  by  the  agent  oi'  his 
Majesty  and  the  agent  of  the  United  States,  lespectiv.^ly  appoin- 
ted and  authorised  to  irianap,e  the  business  in  behalf  of  the  re- 
spective Governments,  have  decided,  and  hereby  do  decide,  that 
the  river  described  as  foilows,/viz  :  The  source  of  i;  is  where  ii 
issues  from  the  Lake  Genesagranagrumsis,  one  of  the  Scoudiac 
Lakes,  and  distant  about  five  miles  and  three  quarters,  in  a  di- 
rect course  from  where  the  Cheputnatecook  falls  into  it,  and  a- 
bout  twenty  miles  and  a  half,  also  on  a  direct  course  from  the 
point  of  land  called  the  Devil's  heal,  and  from  its  said  source, 
as  far  at  least  as  to  the  said  point  of  land,  it  has  the  Indian  name 
of  Scoudiac,  and  its  course  for  that  extent  is  easterly,  and  then 
turning  the  said  point  and  leaving  Oak  point  hay  on  the  north, 
its  course  is  southerly  to  its  mouth,  which  is  where  it  empties  it- 
self into  Passamnquaddy  Bay,    at  a  point  of  land  called  Joe's 


34 


point,  about  one  mile  northerly  from  the  nortliern  point  of  the 
island  of  St.  Andrews,  and  in  the  latitude  of  forty-five  degrees, 
five  minutes,  and  five  seconds  north,  and  in  the  Longitude  of 
sixty-seven  decrees,  twelve  niigMA^,  and  thitly    seconds  west, 


Green 


from  the  royal  observatory  of  Greenwirii  in  Great  Britain,  and 
three  degrees  and  fifty  four  minnteS  and  fifleen  seconds  east  from 
Harvard  College  in  the  Ufliv^rsily  of  Cambrid{re,  in  the  State 
of  Massachusetts,  is  the  river  tfuly  intended  under  the  name  of 
the  river  St.  Croix,  mentioned  in  the  said  treaty  of  peace,  and 
forming  a  part  of  the  boundary  therein  described,  and  the  map 
of  it  hereunto  annexed, is  hereby  referred  to  as  further  descrip- 
tion of  it. 

In  testimony  whereof  we  have   hereunto  set  our  hands   and 
seals,  at  Providence,  in  the  State  of  Rhode  Island,  the 
day  of  in  the  year,  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and 

ninety-eight. 

Providence,  October  2Sj,  1790, 

Sir — I  have  considered  with  attention  your  letter  of  this  day, 
and  it  appears  to  me  evident  that  the  adoption  of  the  river  Che- 
putnatecnok  as  a  part  of  the  boundary  betv»een  his  Majesty's 
American  dominions  and  those  of  the  United  States,  in  prefer- 
ence to  a  line  drawn  from  the  eastern  most  point  of  theScoudiac 
Lakes,  would  be  attended  with  considerable  advantage.  It 
would  give  an  addition  of  Territory  to  the  Province  of  New 
Brunswick,  together  with  a  greater  extent  of  navigation,  on  St. 
.lohnV  river,  and  above  all,  a  larger  stretch  of  natural  frontier 
calcidated  to  prevent  future  difficulties  and  discussions  between 
the  two  countries.  If  therefore  by  assenting  to  the  proposal  of 
the  American  agent,  you  can  bring  about  the  unanimous  c«m- 
currence  of  the  Commissioners  in  this  measure,  1  ann  of  opinion, 
that  you  will  fuomote  his  Majesty's  real  interest,  and  I  will  take 
the  earliest  opportunity  with  a  view  to  your  justification  of  ex- 
pressing these  my  sentiments,  on  the  subject  to  his  Majesty's  Sec- 
retary of  State. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be, 

with  great  truth  and  regard, 
' '' V  •  Sir,  Your  most  Obedient 

'   V^  '    <  •  Humble  Servant, 

(Signed)  ROBERT  LISTOrC 

WARD  CHIPMAN,  Esq.  . 


O/i 


NO.  14. 

Letter  from  the  Governor  of  of  Maine,  to  the  Secretary  of  Staff. 

of  the  United  States. 

Portland,  20th  March,  IS27. 

Sni :  Huving  IkuI  the  honor  to  receive  your  letter  of  January 
29th  lar.t  I  transmit,  in  reply,  the  accompanying  *  Report  and 
Resolves,  relative  to  the  Northeastern  boundary  of  the  State  of 
Maine.  The  attention  which  you  have  heretofore  paid  to  the 
adjustment  of  the  United  States'  boundary,  especially  in  anoth- 
er part  of  the  Union,  assures  me,  that  you  will  receive  the  doc- 
uments, I  have  mentioned,  with  that  interest  to  which  they  are 
entitled.  With  the  confidence  which  belongs  to  the  patriotic 
and  paternal  character  of  the  government  oftheUnien,  and  with- 
out complaining  of  it,  in  any  particular,  I  may  be  permitted  to 
say  that  the  growing  importance  of  the  Country  claimed  against 
the  United  States  and  Maine,  carries  along  an  increasing  desire 
to  have  an  open  or  confidential  developement  of  the  material 
facts. 

The  Report  and  Resolves  contain  the  evidence  of  the  present 
disposition  and  purposes  of  the  State,  which  will  receive  my  of- 
ficial co-operation  with  the  same  zeal  and  fidelity  that  will  cheer- 
fully be  applied,  if  requisite,  in  aiding  to  carry  into  effect  any 
federal  measure  applicable  to  the  protection  of  the  rights  in 
question.  The  anxiety  of  a  sovereign  State  to  possess  the  doc- 
uments, (or  copies  of  them,)  which  contain  the  evidence  of  a  ti- 
tle to  soil  and  of  a  jurisdictional  authority  which  it  will,  under 
the  United  States,  maintain,  if  it  shall  discharge  its  duty  either  to 
those  States  or  to  itself,  will  be  duly  appreciated  by  yourself  and 
by  the  President. 

While  that  anxiety  is  here  entertained  by  all  the  Citizens,  it  is 
not  only  with  reference  to  an  important  local  concern,  but  is  con- 
nected with  their  inclination  to  a  harmonious  action  with  all  who 
consent  to  admit  of  it.  In  pursuance,  therefore  of  the  Resolve 
of  the  Legislature  of  Maine,  I  have  the  honor  to  solicit  such  in- 
formation, relative  to  the  Northeastern  boundary  of  that  State, 
as  the  President  may  deem  proper  to  consent  to  have  communi- 
cated. It  is  also  njy  duty  to  add,  that  great  benefit  will  be  de- 
rived from  an  early  detennination  of  a  claim  lintassiiig  to  the 
State,  interrupting  its  bests  pursuits,  threatiMiing  to  some  of  its 
best  hopes,  and  believed  to  be  unlbundeu. 

,;  »  Ht'.p  (tosolvcs  t)(JMain«'. — Pasjo  ri72.  : 


,'ji 


■■■ 


26 


NO.  15. 

Jt^tter  from  the  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  Statet,  to  the 

Governor  of  Maine. 

Washington^   27th  March,  132T. 

Sir  :  I  have  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  the  Letter  which 
your  Excellenry  did  me  the  honor  to  address  to  me  on  the  20th 
instant,  with  a  Copy  of  the  Report  of  the  joint  select  Committee 
of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  State  of 
'JMaine,  eaclosed,  boin  of  which  1  have  submitted  to  the  Presi^ 
dent.  The  deep  interest,  which  is  taken  by  the  State  of  Maine 
in  the  settlement  of  our  Northeastern  Boundary  with  Great 
Britain,  is  very  natural.  And  I  assure  you  that  it  is  a  subject 
on  which  the  President  feels  the  most  lively  solicitude.  Mr. 
Gallatin  is  charged  with,  and  has  actually  entered  on,  a  negotia- 
tion concerning  it,  but  which  was  not  brought  to  a  close  at  the 
last  dates  from  him,  nor  is  it  probably  yet  terminated.  At  that 
period,  the  prospect  was,  that  there  would  be  no  other  alternative 
than  that  of  referring  the  difference  between  the  two  Governments 
to  arbitration,  according  to  the  provisions  of  the  Treaty  of  Ghent. 
Much  difiiculty  was  experienced  even  in  adjusting  certain  pre- 
liminary points  necessarily  connected  with  the  reference,  and 
they  havfc  not  yet  been  finally  arranged. 

When  an  application  was  made,  during  the  session  of  Con- 
gress prior  to  the  last,  by  the  Senators  of  Maine,  for  copies  of 
all  -the  papers  in  this  Depiirtment  respecting  the  disputed  boun- 
dary, it  was  not  deemed  expedient  to  furnish  copies  of  the  He- 
ports  and  arguments  of  the  Commissioners,  the  publication  of 
which,  it  was  believed,  would  be  prejudicial.  Copies  of  any 
surveys,  maps,  or  documentary  evidence,  were  offered.  The 
SHme  considerations,  which  iht^.n  existed,  are  still  believed  to  be 
opposed  to  letti  )g  copies  go  from  this  Department  of  those  re- 
ports and  arguments.  With  that  exception,  copies  of  any  of  the 
other  papers  returned  by  the  Commissioners  will  be  furnished 
whenever  apnljf  iijioii  la  ninde  for  them. 

It  is  siatea  in  tli*'  Hv.\Hirt  of  the  joint  «elect  committee  that 
*  We  cannot  view  ilw  arts  cnniplained  of  ay  the  British  Govern- 
ii'ent  us  encroachments  upon  the  rights  of  New  Brunswick  or 
Great  Britain,  for  they  relate  and  were  <mly  intended  to  relate  to 
the  territory  within  the  oescnption  of  the  Treaty.'  Although  the 
President  mi^ht  be  disposetl  entirely  to  coincide  in  this  opinion, 
with  the  State  of  Maine,  it  must  not  be  forgotten,  that  an  oppo- 
site opinion  is  entertained  b}  Great  Britain,  with  whom  we  are 
HOW  treating.    If,  whilst  the  controversy  is  unsettled,  aad  during 


the  progress  of  a  negotiation,  each  party  proceeds  to  take  possess. 
9ion  of  what  he  claims  to  belong  to  him,  as  both  assert  title  to 
the  same  territory,  an  immediate  collision  is  unavoidable.  Th« 
British  Government  has  abstained,  according  the  assurances, 
given  through  their  minister  here,  from  the  performance  of  any 
new  acts  which  might  be  construed  into  an  exercise  of  the  nghts 
of  Rovereigiity  or  soil  over  the  disputed  territory  ;  and  they  so 
abstained  on  our  representation,  and  at  our  instance.  Under 
these  circumstances,  the  President  conlinues  to  think,  that  it  is 
most  advisable,  that  we  should  practice  the  like  forbearance,  ar 
recommended  in  the  Letters,  which  i  had  the  honor  of  addres&- 
hig  to  your  Excellency,  on  the  4th  January  of  the  last,  and  the 
29th  of  January  of  the  present  year.  This  mutual  forbearance, 
is  believed  to  be  essential  to  the  harmony  between  the  two 
Countries,  and  may  have  a  favorable  tendency  in  the  amicable 
adjustment  of  the  difference  between  them. 

It  is  worthy  also  of  consideration,  that,  although  Maine  is 
most,  she  is  not  the  only  State,  interested  in  the  settlement  of 
this  question. 

Your  Excellency  may  be  perfectly  persuaded,  that  every  effort 
will  be  employed  to  obtain  a  satisfactory,  and  as  speedy  a  deci- 
sion of  this  matter,  as  may  be  practicable  ;  and  that  not  less  at- 
tention will  be  paid  to  it.  than  has  been  shown  on  the  part  of  the 
Executive  of  the  United  Stites  in  the  adjustment  of  their  boun- 
dary in  another  part  of  the  Union  to  which  you  refer,  whilst  it 
IS  hoped  that  some  unpleasant  incidents,  which  occurred  there, 
may  be  avoided  in  the  Northeast. 

I  transmit  herewith,  for  the  consideration  of  your  Excellency, 
xin  extract  from  a  despatch  of  Mr.  Gallatin,  under  date  the  30th 
October  last. 


NO.  16. 

Letter  from  tue  Governor  of  Maine,  to  the  Secretary  of  Stutf  of 
•  the  United  States. 

Portland,  I8th  Jipril,  \Q27. 

Sib, — I  had  the  honor  to  receive  your  letter,  bearing  date, 
March  27th,  ult.  to  which  it  is  my  duty,  as  the  only  organ  of 
communication  of  the  people  of  Maine,  at  this  time,  and  on  this 
(Occasion,  to  reply. 

The  rights  to  which  my  care  will  appear  to  you,  to  be  now  dijv 


•■-■* 

%. 

<: 


rected,  arc  not,  as  I  trust,  jeopardized  ;  but  ihey  are  so  interest- 
ing, as  to  demand  the  sedulous  attention  of  those  functionatics 
of  this  State,  who  are  placed  in  relations  wiiich  enablo  them  to 
represent,  through  you,  to  the  President,  the  feelings  and  princi- 
ples requiring  of  Maine  its  special  regard,  and  which  may  be  re- 
spectfully offered  to  the  Country  and  the  Administration. 

Without  bringing  the  subject  to  that  test  of  deep  and  general 
anxiety,  by  which,  in  a  certain  contingency,  it  must  be  tried  at 
last,  I  shall  offer  a  frank  and  sincere  reply. 

The  extracts  from  Mr.  Gallatin's  communication,  with  which 
you  favored  me,  being  the  foundation  of  some  of  your  remarks, 
allow  me  to  advert  io  a  view  of  the  subject,  to  which  he  informs 
you  he  was  led  by  procedures  of  the  Legislature  of  New-Bruns- 
wick. I  now  refer  to  what  he  has  said  as  to  propositions  of 
compromise  by  Agents  of  Maine  and  Massachusetts,  relating  to 
the  boundary  line.  The  danger  of  inferences,  under  such  cir- 
cumstances, from  the  '  proceedings  of  the  Legislature  of  New- 
Brunswick,'  is  so  evident  that  you  will  not  be  surprised  by  a  de- 
nial of  their  correctness.  '    '     '  • 

Assenting  to  the  idea  that  '  propositions  on  our  part,  incon- 
sistent with  our  construction  of  the  treaty,  and  which  would  not 
secure  to  us  all  the  waters  which  empty  into  the  St.  Johns,  west 
of  the  line  running  north  from  the  source  of  the  St.  Croix,would 
be  dangerous,'  and  being  also  prepared  to  admit  that  Maine 
would  be  inconsistent  and  unjust  to  herself  in  making  such  pro- 
positions, I  shall  satisfy  you  that  sho  has  not  been  off  her  guard 
in  the  manner,  which  called  forth  your  friendly  intervention. — . 
And  first,  allow  me  to  assure  you,  that  there  is  no  occasion  for 
alorm  on  the  part  of  the  Administration  or  its  Minister  in  Eng- 
land, that  Maine  will  jeopardize  the  common  welfare,  by  failing 
to  insist  on  the  justice  and  indefeazible  character  of  its  claim,  or 
by  shrinking  from  a  firm  assertion  in  any  alternative. 

The  Agents  whose  supposed  Acts  '  would  seem,  from  certain 
proceedings  of  the  Legislature  of  New-Brunswick,'  to  have  been 
as  incautious  as  is  represented,  had  no  authority  to  propose  any 
compromise  as  to  our  boundary,  and  if  any  was  offered,  it  was 
officious  and  unwarrantable,  but  lam  enabled  to  inform  you  that 
the  affair  has  been  misrepresented  to  Mr.  Gallatin,  and  I  should 
offer  the  proofs  of  the  correctness  of  this  assurance  in  detail,  if  1 
did  not  believe  it  improper  to  pursue  the  consideration  of  inoffl- 
cial  acts,  and  of  statements  ill-founded,  or  if  otherwise,  inconse- 
quential. Grateful,  therefore,  for  the  attention  evinced  by  the 
caution  he  has  given,  however  unnecessary,  we  will  receive  it  as 
the  pledge  of  his  vigilance  and  ability. 


I^t'^. 


29 


111  concluding,  as  to  this  point,  let  me  fortify  you  against  any 
apprehension  thai  Maine  will  yield  too  much  by  declaring  to  yoii 
plainly,  that  it  is  not  believed  that  either  the  treaty  making  or 
executive  power  of  the  United  States  extends  to  the  cession  or 
exchange  of  the  territory  of  any  State,  without  its  consent  ;  and 
that  for  a  stronger  reason,  no  State  can  barter  that  domain  in 
which  the  Union  has  also  an  interest,  and  that  jurisdiction  which 
the  highest  political  duty  requires  it  to  exercise.  Maine  will, 
surely,  1  believe,  so  far  maintain  these  principles,  as  to  warrant 
a  reliance  agoinst  indiscreet  and  unconstitutional  concessions  and 
a  confidence  in  the  app!'"ation  of  her  means  to  the  repulsion  of 
Bgg'ression.  1  have  full  reliance  upon  her  disposition  and  ability 
to  render  the  President  all  the  aid  which  can  he  desired  against 
the  unfounded  and  presumptuous  claims  made  equally  against  her 
and  the  Union,  to  promote  an  object  suggested  and  supported  on- 
ly by  an  ambition  and  cupidity,  which,  although  natural,  is  nev- 
ertheless on  our  part  altogether  objectionable.  If  these  views 
shall  not  satisfy  the  President,  of  the  confidence  to  which  Maine 
is  entitled,  as  to  the  assertion  and  defence  of  her  rights,  I  shall 
with  pleasure  offer  those  further  proofs  which  I  omit  at  present, 
only  from  the  desire  of  engaging  your  indulgence  for  a  few  ad- 
ditional observations. 

It  was  with  much  regret,  not  unmingled  with  mortification, 
that  I  considered  your  denial  of  the  use  of  the  Reports  and  Ar- 
guments of  the  Commissioners  under  the  treaty  of  Ghent.  From 
the  want  of  that  information  which  it  was  hoped  the  United 
States  would  yield  to  a  party  having  the  same  interests  with  them- 
selves, and  only  desirous  to  sustain  them,  it  is  assumed  that  there 
are  reasons  for  your  decision,  through  which  that  respect  will  be 
commanded,  now  from  great  deference,  profferred  in  anticipation. 
Wishing  to  act  in  full  coincidence  with  the  views  entertained  by 
the  federal  administration,  the  State  must  be  bound  to  believe  in 
a  mutual  regard,  and  to  endeavor  to  avoid  any  embarrassing  ap- 
plications on  her  own  part,  but  it  may  not  be  unsuitable  for  her 
to  expect  a  degree  of  confidence  in  return. 

All  that  forbearance,  which  the  occasion  requires,  will,  as  I 
may  safely  assure  you,  be  exhibited  by  this  State.  While  her 
extensive  and  valuable  tracts  of  wild  land,  which  might  otherwise 
soon  be  improved,  remain  unsettled  : — while  he»'  progress  in  wealth 
and  power  is  checked  in  a  most  disastrous  manner,  at  the  period 
most  favorable  to  giving  an  impulse  to  her  prosperity  : — while 
many  important  resources  are  left  dormant  during  the  pendency 
of  the  dispute  as  to  her  property  and  jurisdiction  • — while  ■»  fron- 
tier, which  might  soon  be  made  strong,  remains  unfortified  by  the 


:r 


9b 


freemen  anxious  to  occupy  it,  she  will,  I  doubt  not,  forbear  on 
ihe  If  quest  of  the  General  Government,  until  tne  imperious  cnll 
of  duty  shall  summon  licr  to  occupy  her  inheritance.  Seeking  to 
promote,  by  all  suitable  concessions,  the  amicable  adjustment 
you  refer  to,  she  will  only  withdraw  her  deference  and  submission, 
when  a  claim  unjust  in  itself,  m.i}  seem  to  expose  a  portion  of  her 
territory  to  incorporation  with  a  Province. — With  this  spirit  of 
forbearance,  she  has  sought  information  only  as  to  an  interest  vital 
to  herself,  as  well  as  important  to  the  country,  without  an>  pur- 
pose calculated  to  excite  distrust,  with  only  such  patriotic  views 
as  have  rendered  the  refusal  to  comply  with  her  reqtiest,  a  sub- 
ject of  that  species  of  surprise,  which  a  friend,  predetermined  to 
take  no  offence,  feels  when  he  is  not  treated  with  correspondent 
confidence. 

IVJaine,  Sir,  was  with  great  difficulty  introduced  into  the  Union ; 
but,  if  I  recollect  rightly,  the  arjufuments  which  were  used,  she  wag- 
introduced  as  a  sovereigpi  and  Independent  State. 

As  a  free,  sovereign,  and  independent  republic,  may  we  not  be 
permitted  to  have  communication  with  the  Authorities  of  the 
Union,  or  do  they  mean  that  we  shall  submit  implicitly  to  their 
direction,  however  wise  it  may  be,  at  the  same  time  that  they  de- 
clare their  conviction  of  the  propriety  of  withholding;  information  .^' 
The  general  concerns  of  the  Union,  are  of  course  communicated 
©nly  to  the  whole,  but  that  which  relates  to  a  particular  commu- 
nity, where  its  daily  intercourse  demands  information,  seems  to 
warrant  the  request  I  have  made,  and  which  1  am  reluctantly  im- 
pelled to  renew,  with  this  modification,  that  any  communication, 
made  in  return,  will  be  received,  if  so  required,  subject  to  a  re- 
striction on  publicity  beyond  a  communication  to  the  Legislature 
in  the  usual  terms  of  confidential  communications.  If  the  Pres- 
ident will  not  consent  to  this,  we  must  yield  with  the  deference 
we  owe  to  the  station  he  holds,  to  the  claims  he  has  on  our  af- 
fections and  confidence,  to  the  information  he  possesses,  and  the 
prudence  he  displays  to  any  extent  within  which  the  absolute  and 
indefeazible  rights  of  Maine,  may  not  be  compromitted.  Will 
you  permit  me  to  add  that,  as  to  all  beyond  that,  this  State  may 
probably  claim  the  right  to  use  her  moral  and  physical  energies 
as  she  may  be  directed  by  the  future  emergencies;  and  I  am  sure, 
if  her  good  will  shall  impel  her,  with  power  enough  to  sustain  her 
right  to  soil  and  jurisdiction,  wherever  she  may  probably  claim 
them  against  any  probable  foreign  and  arrogant  assumption  ;  es- 
pecially with  the  aid  of  the  general  government. 

1  do  not  wish  to  weary  your  patience  by  urging  the  particular 
arguments  which  might  sustain  my  proposition.    It  is  true,  Sir, 


.31 


?' 


that  Maine  is  not  the  only  State  interested.  The  Union  is  inter- 
ested, nndeach  State  is  severally  interested  in  having  a  powerful 
coinniuniiy  on  our  Northeastern  Uonndary,  wliich  rnay,  like 
New  York,  in  the  Ihsi,  he  the  pride  and  defence  of  the  nation  in 
the  next  war.  Whenever  ag»in  there  shaM  be  a  strupple  be- 
tween the  navies  and  armies  of  this  Republic  and  Great  Britain* 
the  position  of  M  line  will  require  acliviiy,  strength,  and  confi- 
dence. She  will  be  exposed  to  a  large  portion  of  danger  and 
suffering,  and  will  be,  1  hope  and  believe,  resolute  to  acquire  tlie 
glory  lo  which  such  exposure,  with  unimpaired  means,  will  iiivile 
her. 

Politically  peninsulated,  with  three  foreign  {ijovernments  press- 
ing upon  her  borders,  with  the  hich  ambition  inspired,  and  the 
high  responsibility  created  by  her  destination,  can  it  be  believed 
that  she  will  relinquish  her  resources,  suffer  her  land  marks  to  be 
removed,  and  yield  to  a  most  presumptuous  arrogation  of  a  for- 
eign power.  I  trust  you  will  more  highly  appreciate  her  intel- 
ligenoe  and  spirit  than  lo  imagine  (hat  so  degrading  and  perni- 
cious a  surrender  can  be  consented  to  by  her. 

But,  is  she  authorized  even  to  consider  this  question,  and  to  de- 
termine the  extent  of  her  municipal  jurisdiction,  and  that  of  the 
territoriallimits  within  which  she  will  exercise  it.''  If  a  man- 
date of  the  Executive  of  the  United  States,  under  an  act  of  the 
treaty  making  power,  is,  upon  principle,  imperative,  she  ought 
to  be  silent  and  passive  ;  but  if  not,  however  confidently  she 
may  rely  upon  her  safety,  as  guarded  by  wisdom  and  patriotism, 
she  ought  to  announce  her  wishes  and  her  priii'^iples.  »i,H' 

While  under  treaties  with  Great  Britain,  the  boundary  in  dis- 
pute has  been  settled,  the  difliculty  has  occurreiJ  only  as  to  the 
application  of  the  rule  in  those  treaties  contained,  to  the  surface 
of  the  ground.  The  right,  to  the  full  extent  oi  'he  first  treaty 
is  perfect.  It  was  not  en  ited  b}'  that  treaty,  but  its  existence 
was  prior  to  it,  ami  no  surrender  could  have  th- n  been  made 
without  the  consent  of  the  proprietor  and  the  st).ereign.  No 
surrender  was  made,  and  there  is  not  a  moral  or  pohtical,  in  oth- 
er words,  a  governmental  force,  sufficient  to  change  the  true, 
honest  determination  of  the  land-mark.  And  there  is  nothing 
but  sophistry,  and  that  ignoble  spirit  of  compromise,  which  ex- 
ists not  in  this  republic,  which  will  consent  to  the  obvious  and 
monstrous  falsehoods  to  wl>ich  ambitious  and  artful  pretentinos 
have  led  the  enemies  of  IVlaine. 

In  regard  to  the  sentence  which  you  have  extracted  from  the 
report  of  the  joint  select  committee,  as  it  contains  a  ?:<ii  ,!5ent 
•pproved  by  the  Legislature,  and  acquiesced  in  by  the  .>«Oi;i<;,  I 


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tihall  trouble  you  with  a  brief  comment  in  regard  to  it.  It  rests 
upon  the  itiea'before  suggested  that  Maine,  with  Massachusetts, 
has  a  perfect  title  in  the  disputed  territory,  and  that  the  former 
State,  has  a  vested,  indefeazible  jurisdictional  control  over  it, 
the  exercise  of  which  it  may  irresponsibly  apply.  It  is  a  pro- 
positron  which  has  been  demonstrated  by  yourself  so  clearly,  as 
to  have  commanded  general  respect,  that  the  abstraction  of  the 
territory  of  the  United  States,  cannot  be  made  by  the  treaty 
making  or  executive  power.  Much  more  then  must  the  domain 
of  a  Stale  within  its  acUnowledged  limits  be  sacred,  and  much 
more  and  more  is  it  evident,  that  neither  department  of  the  fed- 
eral government,  nor  all,  can  be  the  exclusive  and  final  arbiter  as 
to  the  ascertainment  of  a  boundary  already  established  in  de- 
scription ;  because,  if  one  department,  or  all,  have  this  power, 
they  may  ascertain  the  line  falsely,  indirectly  cede  our  State, 
converting  it  into  a  British  dependency,  and  thus  by  the  argu- 
ments, i  had  the  invaluable  satisfaction  of  hearing  applied  in  a- 
nother  case,  violate  the  constitution.  If,  therefore,  the  commit- 
tee have  fallen  into  error,  it  has  not  been  in  the  principle  of  their 
judgment  as  to  the  rights  of  this  State  abstractly  considered  ,• 
but  in  their  view  of  the  extent  of  our  territory  and  of  the  ap- 
plication of  our  authority  over  it.  They  in  fact  substantially 
tissert  that  the  treaty  of  1783,  in  connexion  with  original  grants, 
and  subsequent  and  correlative  circumstanees,  established  and 
defined  our  bounds,  so  as  to  preclude  Just  complaint  of  our  pub- 
lic acts  within  the  scope  of  those  legitimate  powers,  which  at  the 
discretion  of  the  St  ^e,  it  may,  within  those  bounds,  any  where 
apply.  The  doctrine  of  the  committee  can  only  be  refuted  by 
proving  that  the  national  authority  is  exclusive  as  to  the  adjust- 
Hient  of  our  exterior  boundary;  but  let  it  be  recollected  that  tbf; 
present  case  only  admits  the  ascertainment  of  a  line  by  a  rule 
prescribed,  and  not  the  creation  of  one  arbitrarily,  or  in  other 
words,  by  arbitrament.  A  right  was  vested  in  a  third  party  be- 
fore the  Union  existed,  and  has  been  confirmed  b}'  it  since.  In 
short,  the  committee,  it  is  believed,  may  be  considered  as  claim- 
ing such  respect  as  may  be  attached  to  those  who  have  truly  ex- 
liibited  the  sentiments  of  this  community. 

Anxious,  as  in  my  situation,  I  cannot  avoid  being,  for  the 
preservation,  during  my  continuance  in  office  and  always  after, 
of  the  rights  of  the  State,  I  must  express  my  alarm  at  a  portion 
of  Mr.  Gallatin's  letter.  He  says,  '  an  umpire,  whether  a  King 
or  farmer,  rarely  decides  on  strict  principles  of  law  ; — he  has 
always  a  bias  to  try  if  possible  to  split  the  difference,'  &Ln. ;  and 
yet  1  am  informed  that  there  has  been  in  progress  an  arrange 


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roent  of  (ho  preliminary  points,  for  constilntiug  such  an  urnptrt, 
I  cannoi  but  hope  that  no  arrangement  will  be  eflected,  which 
will  endanger  the  half  from  the  mere  circumstance  o(  a  wrong- 
ful claim  to  the  whole,  under  the  pitiful  weakness  which  is  liabla 
to  split  the  difference  between  right  and  wrong. 

Let  me  add,  in  this  particular  part  of  my  letter  most  respect- 
fully, but  solemnly,  the  sentiment,  that  Maine  is  oound  to  claim 
at  the  hands  of  the  federal  government,  the  protection  of  the 
integrity  of  her  territory,  the  defence  of  her  sovereignly,  and 
the  guardianship  of  her  State  rights.  She  is  called  upon  to  urge 
this  that  she  may  be  rather  permitted  to  rest  on  the  parental  caro 
of  the  Union  than  driven  to  any  independent  agency,  in  any 
form,  in  relation  to  this  concern. 

That  you  may  not  be  surprised  that  tht  State,  after  having 
rruitlessly  sought  information  should  have  determined  on  its 
course  without  it,  give  me  leave  to  say  that  while  she  ctnnot'be 
presumed  to  be  informed  in  all  particulars,  as  to  the  relations  of 
a  deeply  interesting  character  in  which  she  is  placed,  she  is  cal- 
led upon  to  judge  as  to  others,  and  is  not  without  the  premises 
necessary  to  correct  conclusions. 

Whatever  intelligence  she  might  have  been  permitted  to  re- 
ceive as  to  her  relative  situation,  she  would,  as  she  will  hereafter, 
cheerfully  co-operate  with  the  general  government  to  prevent 
an  assumption  of  our  territory,  to  whatever  extent,  by  the  King 
of  Great  Britain. 

In  executing  the  Resolve  of  the  Legislature  it  will  be  conven- 
ient to  me  to  possess  a  schedule  of  those  documents  which  may 
be  communicated.  I  will,  therefore,  hope  the  favor  of  being 
furnished  with  such  an  index  for  the  direction  of  my  inquiries. 


2- 


J- 


Litter  from  the  Secretary   of  State  of  the  United  Statet,   to 
the  Governor  of  Maine. 

Washington,  7th  May,  182T. 
Sir  :  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  vour 
Excellency's  letter  of  the  1 8th  ultimo,  and  to  inform  you  that  I 
have  submitted  it  to  the  President.  The  solicitude  which  is  felt 
by  your  Excellency  and  the  Legislature  of  Maine,  in  regard  to 
the  settlement  of  our  North  eastern  boundary,  so  interesting  to 
that  State,  and  so  important  to  the  whole   Union,  is  perfectly 


^IPI 


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natural,  and  justly  appreciated  by  the  President.  And  he  is  entirely 
disponed  to  communicate  any  information  in  the  possession  of  the 
Executive  of  the  United  States  on  thut  subject,  which  can,  in  his 
opinion,  be  communicated  without  the  danger  of  public  detri- 
ment. Accordingly,  when,  at  the  session  of  Congress  before 
the  last,  an  application  was  made  at  this  Department,  by  the 
Senators  from  Maine,  for  copies  of  all  the  papers,  maps,  and  oth- 
er documents  reported  by  the  Commissioners,  who  were  ap- 
pomted  under  the  fifth  article  of  the  Treaty  of  Ghent,  it  was  sta- 
ted to  those  gentlemen,  that  the  copies  would  be  furnished 
whenever  requested,  with  the  exception  of  the  reports  and  argu- 
ments of  the  Commissioners,  transcripts  from  which,  consider- 
ing their  peculiar  character,  in  the  then  state  of  the  question, 
the  President  did  not  think  it  expedient  to  allow  to  be  taken. 
The  Senators  from  Maine  availed  themselves  of  the  permission, 
and  obtained  copies  of  some  of  the  maps.  Copies  of  all  the  pa- 
pers reported  by  the  Commissioners,  which  are  very  voluminous, 
would  require  the  services  of  iwo  or  three  copyists  for  many 
weeks  ;  but  the  labor  of  preparing  them  would  be  cheerfully  en- 
countered for  the  accommodation  of  the  State  of  Maine. 

The  negotiation  with  Great  Britain  is  still  pending,  but  there 
is  reason  to  expect  that  it  will  soon  be  brought  to  some  conclu- 
sion ;  perhaps  in  a  shorter  time  than  would  be  requisite  to  co- 
py and  transmit  the  papers  reported  by  the  Commissioners,  to 
your  Excellency.  The  President  continues  to  think,  that  the 
public  interest  requires,  that  the  communication  of  transcripts  of 
the  reports  and  arguments  of  the  Commissioners,  even  under  the 
limitation  proposed  hy  your  Excellency,  should  be  postponed 
for  the  present,  and  until  it  cnn  be  made  without  the  risk  of  any 
injurious  effect  upon  the  state  of  the  negotiation.  Your  Excel- 
lency's experience  in  public  affairs,  will  enable  you  to  make  a 
just  estimate  of  the  reserve  and  delicacy  which  ought  to  be  ob- 
served in  all  negotiations  with  foreign  powers,  involving  sub- 
jects of  deep  national  interest.  This  consideration  has  such 
weight,  that  it  is  the  uniform  practice  of  Congress,  as  no  one 
knows  better  than  your  Excellency,  to  annex  a  qualification  to 
the  calls  which  are  from  time  to  time  made,  for  papers  relating 
to  the  Foreign  negotiations  of  ihe  Government.  There  would 
not  be  the  smallest  objection  to  an  exhibition  to  the  inspection 
of  your  Excellency,  or  confidentially,  to  any  person  that  you 
might  think  proper  to  designate,  of  all  the  papers,  without  ex- 
eeption,  reported  by  the  Commissioners.  1  abstain  from  a  par- 
ticular notice  of  many  of  the  topics  of  your  Excellency's  letter, 
not  frptn  the  least  want  of  respect,  (on  the  contrary  I  entertain 


1 

3 


ib»l*>a.'i<.'Lj,.. 


■  } 

the  highest,  personally  and  officially,)  for  your  Excellency,  hut 
from  a  persuasion  that  the  discussion  of  them  is  without  utility. 
It  has  been  thought  most  profitable  to  limit  my  answer  to  the 
specific  requests  contained  in  your  letter. 

I  transmit,  herewith,  in  conformity  with  your  wish,  a  list  of  the 
papers  reported  by  the  Commissioners,  copies  of  any  of  which 
may  be  procured,  for  the  use  of  the  State  of  Maine,  whenever 
desired,  with  the  exception  which  has  been  stated. 


WO.  18. 

A  Lift  of  Books,  papers^  S/c.  relative  to  the  5th  Article 
of  the  Treaty  of  Ghent. 

■  ■         BOOKS.   "  ^:;;v:J/:;'.w.^^^^^ 

Vol.  I.  Journal  of  Commission. 

yoI.II.  Claims  of  Agents. 

Contains,     Claim  of  the  agent  of  the  United  States. 

First,  memorial  concerning  the  Northwest  angle  of 
Nova  Scotia,  and  the  Northwesternmost  head  of  Con- 
necticut River,  Sec. 

By  the  agent  of  H.  B.  Majesty. 
Second,  Memorial  concerning  same.     By  same. 

Answers  of  Agents. 
A  reply  to  the  Memorial  of  the  Agent  of  the  United 
States,  filed  8th  June,  1821,  exhibiting  the  line  of  the 
boundary  of  the  United  States  from  the  source  of  the 
River  St.  Croix,  to  the  Iroquios  or  Cataraguy. 
Answer  of  the  Agent  United  States  to  the  claim  and 
opening  argument  of  the  Agent  of  H.  B.  Majesty. 

Read,  August  lOlb,  1821. 

Replies  of  the  Agents, 
The  Reply  of  the  Agent  of  the  United  States  to  the 
answers  of  the  Agent  of  H.  B.  Majesty  to  the  claim 
and  opening  argument  of  the  Agent  of  the   United 
States,  he.  Read,  Sept.  27th,  1821. 

Observations  upon  the  answersof  the  Agent  of  the 
United  States,  to  the  Claim  and  opening  argument 
of  the  Agent  of  H.  B.  Majesty,  &c. 
(^      ;!        '  By  the  Agent  of  H.  B.  Majesty.    J' 


Vol.  III. 
Contains, 


Vol.  IV. 
Contains, 


m- 


^""m 


M 


'^*^ 


96  ' 

V«1.  V.  General  Appendix. 

Contains,  Re^jorts  of  the  Surveyors  and  Astronomers,  and 
Documents  referred  to,  in  the  Arguments. of  the 
Agents. 

Appendix  to  British  Ageufs  Reply. 
(Duplicate)  Report  of  Commissioner  C.  P.  Van 
Ness. 
'  Report  of  the   Commissioner  of  H.  B.  Majesty, 

V  addressed  to  the  Government  of  tha  United  States. 

Appendix  to  the  Report  of  U.  B.  Majesty's  Com*- 
niisioners. 


'i&,. 'ski" 


j.i*  .■--. 


^O.  19. 
INDEX. 


JVuwiJeri  referred  to  in 
the  U.  S.  arguments. 


•■\  lumbers  referred  in  the 

British  arguments. 

1 .  Mr.  Johnson's  survey  of  the  Line  North  from  the  St".  ) 
Croix  in  1817,  J    * 

2.  Col.  Bouchett's  survey  of  the  same  Line,  1817.  2 

3.  Mr.  Johnson's  further  survey  of  the  North  Line  and  > 
adjaccntCountry  in  1818.  ) 

4.  Mr.  Odell's  further  survey  of  the  North  Line.  H. 

5.  Capt.   Partridge's  section  of  the  country  from  Point 
Levi,  to  Hallowel,  Maine,  ?819,  of  the  different  Heights 
through  the  Grand  Portage  of  Matawasea  on  St.  John 
Rivars,  of  Mar's  Hill. 

0.  Survey  of  the  Restook  section  of  the   same,  and  of 
Mar's  Hill.  5    " 

7.  Mr.  Odell's  survey  of  the  Restook  with  a    sketch  of  ^ 
the  country  as  viewed  from  Mar's  Hill  and  the  vicinity  >  G. 
of  the  Houlton  Plantatian.  ) 

8.  Mr.  Hunter's  survey  of  the  Allaguash  River.  6 

9.  "  "  "      ofthe  Penobscot,  First  Part.  7 

10.  "  «  "     ofthe  Penobscot,  Second  Part.  8 

11.  Mr.  Burnham's  survey  of  the   Branches  of  Connect!-  )  p 
cut  River.  >  "' 

12.  Doc.  Tiark's  survey   of  Connecticut  River  and  its  >  a 
Tributary  streams.  >     * 

IS.  Mr.  Burnham's  survey  of  Memkeswee,  Green    Riv- )    ^ 
•r»  and  Beaver  stream.  S 


37 


1 

2 

H. 

4 


6 

7 
8 


11 

13 

F. 

14 
15 

16 
17 


14.  Mr.  Buruham*s  survey  of Toladie  River  and  Grand) 
Portage.  y 

15.  Doc.  Tiark's  survey  of  Toiadie  and  Green  Rivers. 

16.  Mr.  Loring's  survey  of  Penobscot  River. 

17.  "         "  "      of  Moose  River 

18.  Mr.  Campbell's  sketch  of  the  Height  of  Land  annex-  ) 
ed  to  Mr.  Odell's  Report  of  the  survey  of  1819.  ) 

19.  Mr.  Hunter's  survey  of  the  River  St.  John. 

20.  Mr.  Loss' servey  of  the  River  St.  John. 

21.  Mr.  Partridge's  survey  of  the  Chaudiere,  the  source  of) 
the  Dead  River,  and  the  East  Branch  of  the  Connecticut.  > 

22.  Mr.  Carlile's  survey  of  the  Head  waters  of  the  Chan-  ) 
diere  and  Kennebec  Rivers.  ) 

23.  Mr.  Burnham's  survey  of  the  River  Quelle  and  of  the  ) 
source  of  Black  River.  -       ^ 

24.  Mr.  Carlile's  survey  of  the  Rivers. 

25.  Mr.  Burnham's  survey  of  the  sources  of  the  Metjar-  ) 
mette,  Penobscot  and  St.  John  Rivers.  ) 

26.  Mr.  Carlile's  survey  of  the  same  source. 

27.  Col.   Bouchett's   Barometrical   section  of  the  Line ) 
North  from  the  St  Croix.  S 

28.  Extract  from  Carrigan's  Map  of  New  Hampshire. 

"      from  Mitchel's  Map  of  Connecticut  River. 

Col.  Bouchett's  concerning  the  Parallel  line. 

39.  Extr?ot  from  Mitchell's  Map  as  first  filed  by  the  Brit-  ) 

ish  Agent.  ) 

30.  Plan  of  the  former  survey  of  the  Latitude  of  Forty  five  ) 

degrees  North,  in  1774.  y 

Additional. 
Map  of  the  Country  explored  in  the  years  1817,  1818,  1819, 
and  1820,  by  order  of  the  Commissioners  under  the  5th  Article 
of  the  Treaty  of  Ghent. 

Maps  referred  to  in  the  British  J]genfs  Reply. 

A.  Map  of  Connecticut  River  by  Doctor  Tiarks. 

B.  Streams  Tributary  to  Connecticut  River  by  Mr.  Burnham# 

C.  Extract  from  Carrigan's  Map  of  New  Hampshire. 

D.  Extracts  from    Mitchell's  Map   shewing  the  heads   of> 

Connecticut  River.  \ 

E.  Col.  Bouchett's  plan  shewing  the  different  lines  consid-  ) 

ered  as  the  parallel  of  45*^  North.  5 

F.  Mr.  Campbell's   sketch  of  the  height  of  land  annexed 

to  Mr.  Odell's  Report  of  the  survey  of  1819. 


18 

1 

19 

f ,     1  •               r 

20 

21 

23 

': 

C. 

D. 

E. 

«■ 


38 

G.  Mr.  Odell's  plan  of  the  survey  of  the  Restock,  with  a  > 
,     sketch  of  the  Country  as  viewed,  Hill  and  the  vicinity  S 
of  Houlton.  ) 

H.  Extract  from  Mr.  OdeH's  plan  of  the  due  North  line  ex- 
plored in  1818. 
I.    General  extract  from  Mitcbeirs  map. 
K.  Corrected  Copy  of  same  Extract. 

Filed  August  14,  1831. 
(signed)  S.  HALE.  Secretary 

Iri  Title  of  the  British. 

ThU  Atlas  (containing  the  Copies  of  Maps  and  parts  of  Maps 
and  plains  with  the  exception  of  the  last  Mitchell's  map  which 
was  filed  as  thereon  statedWccompanied  the  answering  argument 
of  the  Agent  of  H.  B.  Majesty  filed  on  the  14th  of  August  last. 


tvn 


ISO.  20. 


Letter  from  the  Governor  of  Maine,  to  the  President  of  the  Uni- 
ted States.  ^ 

"r  Portland,  May  Id,  n27. 

Sir  :  The  situation  in  which  this  State  is  placed,  in  consequence 
of  the  unexecuted  provision  of  the  Treaty  of  Ghent  relative  to  its 
Northeastern  boundary  imposes  upon  me  a  duty  which  I  am  not 
permitted  to  compromise  by  my  feelings  of  respect  for  yourself, 
and  the  high  authority  with  which  you  are  invested.  However 
discouraging  may  have  been  the  correspondence  I  have  had  with 
the  Secretary  of  State,  I  cannot  decline  a  course  deliberately 
determined  upon,  or  admit  the  belief,  that  a  representiition  rela- 
ting to  the  welfare  of  Maine  can  be  unwelcome.  It  is  not  the 
comparatively  light  concern  of  a  passing  favo»*,  or  the  import  of 
a  transient  measure  that  I  am  about  to  urge ;  but  it  is  that  of  ma- 
king a  memorial  for  consideration  and  record  as  to  the  demesne 
and  jurisdiction  oft'iis  member  of  the  Union. 

Obliged  to  depend  principally  for  information  upon  rumor,  the  te- 
nacity of  knowledge,  which  is  power,  has  not,  however,  concealed 
the  fact  that  the  British  Goveinmenthas  made  a  claim  embracmg 
a  large  tract  of  country  adjacent  to  the  Province  of  New-Bruns- 
wick. Information  from  various  sources  cannot  fail  to  have  pro- 
duced on  your  mind  a  just  impression  of  the  importance  commu- 
nicated to  that  territory  in  reference  to  value  and  jurisdiction,  by 
its  Tiualities  of  soil,  its  variety  of  native  productions,  its  streams 


'% 


f 


■s.i- 


:./,.,, 


39 


i  ] 


H 


! 


its  situation,  and  all  those  properties  calculated  to  render  it  not 
only  a  strong  interior  barrier  to  invasion,  but  fruitful  of  the  means 
ot  prosperity  to  our  maritime  frontier.  The  Slate  of  Maine  claims 
the  propriety  in  an  undivided  moiety,  and  the  entire  jurisdiction, 
as  far  as  consistent  with  the  paramount  power  of  the  United 
States,  in  relation  to  that  extensive  tract.  Having  learned  that 
the  title  thereto  is  involved  in  the  details  of  a  diplomatic  arrange- 
ment conducted  under  the  sanction  of  the  executive  department 
of  the  federal  government,  Maine,  although  not  consulted,  yet 
bound  from  deference,  to  pay  a  due  respect  to  reasons,  the  nature 
and  force  of  which  she  is,  from  a  studious  and  mysterious  reserve 
rendered  unable  to  comprehend,  believes  she  ought  to  present 
her  expostulations  in  regard  to  any  measures  threatening  her  with 
injury. 

The  Secretary  of  State  has  informed  me  that  the  disputed 
claims  to  land  along  our  Northeastern  boundary  are  to  be  sub- 
mitted to  arbitration.  By  arbitration  I  understand  a  submission 
to  some  foreign  Sovereign  or  State,  who  will  decide  at  pleasure  ' 
on  the  whole  subject,  who  will  be  under  no  absolute  obligations 
or  effectual  restraint  by  virtue  of  the  Treaty  of  1783,  whose  con- 
science will  not  be  bound  to  initparliality  and  justice  by  the  sol- 
emn sanction  of  an  oath,  and  whose  feelings  may  naturally  be  bi- 
assed against  a  Republic  accused  of  inordinate  ambition,  and  in 
whose  peace  and  prosperity  there  is  an  interesting  lesson  and 
example  for  nations. 

The  treaty  making  power  of  the  United  States  on  one  side, 
and  his  Britannic  Majesty  on  the  other,  engage  to  consider  the 
decision  of  the  Arbitrator  final  and  conclusive.  Let  me  say  that 
to  a  surrender  of  Territory,  involved  as  a  possibility,  it  will,  I 
trust,  be  made  evident  (hat  there  is  another  party,  not  to  be  an 
indifTereru  spectator  of  its  own  delaceration.  The  mind  ib  con- 
templating our  prospects  is  carried  to  the  Courts  of  Europe,  and 
led  to  scan  the  tribunals  to  which  you  may  refer  this  subject. — 
It  would  be  unsuitable  for  me  to  comment  on  the  dispositions  or 
talents  of  foreign  Soverignsor  States,  but  it  is  not  in  cold  blood 
that  I  can  anticipate  the  committing  the  destinies  of  Maine  to  an 
irresponsible  arbiter  to  be  found  in  a  distant  land  and  necessarily 
unqualified  to  act  in  the  case.  The  character  of  this  afbitership  has 
been  portentiously  exhibited  by  Mr.  Gallatin  in  that  letter,  in 
which  on  the  authority  of  intelligence  from  New-Brunswick,  he 
most  erroneously  ascribed  an  interposition  by  the  Agents  of  Mas- 
sachusetts and  Maine  as  to  a  compromise  of  our  boundary.  Suffice 
it  to  say  that  the  proposed  arbitration  will  jeopardize,  without  her 
consent  and  against  her  will,  the  rights  of  Maine  ;  and  allow  me 


/ 


wummmimmmmm 


to  add,  tliatir called  upon  to  make  the  required  sacrifice,  she 
will  be  compelled  to  deliberate  on  an  alternative,  which  will  test 
the  strictness  of  her  principles,  and  the  firmness  of  her  temper. 

The  acknowledgement   of  the   mother  country  and  the  exer- 
cise of  the  inherent  power  of  the  people,  formed  Mussachusetts 
into  a  body  politic,  originally  independent  of  the  present  Union 
and  of  every  foreign  government.     All  the  territorial  and  juris- 
dictional rights  which  she  could  acquire  were  absolutely  her  own 
and  remain  so  to  this  day,  excepting   so  far  as  she  has  granted 
ihem  to  the  United  States  or  to  Maine.     The   Treaty  of  1783, 
containing  the  acknowledgment  of  her  emancipation,  and  exal- 
tation to  self-government,  was  not  with  the  States,  exclusively  as 
a  federal  body,  but  partially  at  least  as  independent  communities, 
that  is  to  say,  if  in  some  points  of  view  they  appeared  as  forming 
a  national,  in  other,  they  were  regarded  as  being  an  allied  asso- 
ciation.    Hence  the  acknowledgment  of  independence   applied 
distinctly  to  each   State,  as  did  also  the  relinquishment  by  the 
King  of  Great  Britain  of  '  the  propriety  and  territorial  rights  of 
the  same  and  every  part  thereof.'     It  is  necessary  to  notice,  that 
at  the  period  of  the   negotiation  of  the  Treaty   of  Peace,  the 
confederation  to  a  sliglit  extent  and  in  reference  to  a  few  objects 
drew  the  States  into  concert  and  gave  them  a  unity  of  character ; 
but  the  most  superficial  examination  shows  that  the  confederacy 
had  not  a  common  interest  in  territory  or  territorial  rights,  and 
that  the  recognition  of  these  bore  upon  the  ancient  colonies  on- 
ly as  they  held  under  their  Ciiarters,  or  as  the  fruits  of  their  wis- 
dom and  valor,  in  fee  simple  and  absolute  sovereignty. 

When  by  the  ratification  of  the  Conventions  of  the  Slates, 
Massachusetts  surrendered  to  a  superintending  agency  a  portion 
of  her  power,  she  yielded  no  right  to  dispose  of  her  soil,  or  to 
abstract  any  partof  it  from  her  jurisdictiou.  She  imparted  no 
authority  to  enter  into  new  engagements,  or,  what  may  be  ^quiir- 
alent,  to  modify  the  means  of  enforcing  an  existing  provision  of 
an  original  compact  made  in  part  with  herself,  nor  to  expose 
withcut  her  own  consent  or  that  of  her  successor,  and  representa- 
tive to  the  fate  of  foreign  arbitrament,  her  dearly  purchased  and 
sacred  rights.  On  the  contrary,  Maine,  now  standing  in  the 
place  of  her  parent  republic,  may  deem  the  fifth  article  of  the 
Treaty  of  Ghent,  as  having  led  to  a  course  endangering  her 
rights,  and  rendered  more  painful  and  alarming  by  her  CKclusiun 
from  a  proper  intercommunication  and  legitimate  consideration 
as  a  party  in  the  case. 

Whatever  character  appertained  to  the  confederation  or  to  those 
who  entered  into  that  holy  league,  it  is  manifest  that  the  States 


■7'E,t'ji:fi?.*iLV3'»._t,^i^  4*''-itraUiitei»-i:*.-.rt[;!!:tf.:iLiiftiik.i'*Vt5 


'^il6:f^'^mim»rinM<,m^:M^. 


41 


were  not  identified  and  confounded  whhthe  Union  in  roklion  to 
the  que>ti()n  here  presented,  under  liie  origJDal  trenty  ol  peace 
and  limits.  I  must,  therefore,  respectfully  urge  that  how- 
over  the  policy  and  principles  of  tlie  executive  department 
of  the  federal  government  may  dictate  the  imposition  upon 
Maine  of  silence  and  forbearance,  and  however  plainly 
may  be  indicated  the  disposition  to  treat  the  subject  os  if 
merely  national,  she  will  not  observe  any  procedure  by  the 
United  States  and  Great  Britain  for  the  severance  of  her  territory 
and  the  abrogation  of  her  authority,  without  a  sensibility  too  se"* 
rious  to  be  passive.  She  h«lds  that  her  domain  is  not  the  sub- 
ject  of  Partition. 

f  pause  to  render  more  obvious  the  relevancy  of  these  re-* 
marks.  Of  two  principles  on  which  it  depends,  it  may  be  suffi- 
cient to  state  but  one.  The  power  of  subjecting  to  arbitration 
with  an  absolute  right  in  the  arbiter  to  form  and  establish  a  ter- 
ritorial limit  is  equivalent  to  the  power  of  ceding  territory. — 
The  arbiter  is  the  legal  substitute  and  mutual  agent  of  the  par-' 
ties,  in  this  case  assumed  to  be  the  United  States  and  Great  Brit^ 
ain,  his  acts  are  their  acts  and  there  is  a  positive  pledge  to  an 
unconditional  obedience  to  his  behest.  It  is  the  delegation  of 
the  Sovereignty  of  a  de<)pot.  The  effect  may  be  the  cession  of 
all  Maine  or  of  only  a  part,  but  if  of  any,  the  government  o4'  the 
United  States  will  participate  by  an  unauthorized  submission,  in 
the  injustice  of  the  umpire. 

It  is  not  controverted  that  the  control  of  our  foreign  relations 
belongs  to  the  United  States  as  to  objects  which  have  arisen  un- 
der the  Constitution  or  existing  laws ;  but  in  regard  to  rights  ac- 
quired by  an  independent  party  and  interests  in  property  vested 
by  acts  anterior  to  the  existence  of  that  compact,  the  interpositioti 
by  the  federal  executive  without  an  express  grant  of  power  seems 
to  be  gratuitous.  No  statesman  will  assert,  that  the  treaty  match- 
ing power  is  competent  to  an  act  transcending  the  scope  of  the 
combined  trusts  of  the  government. 

I  advr>rt  to  principles,  familiar  to  your  mind,  because  it  is  my 
duty  to  present  the  opinions  here  entertained.  What  then  is  the 
authority,  or  agency  which  it  may  be  assumed,  would  produce 
iH>  remonstrances  from  the  State  the  most  deeply  concerned  ? 
Not  surely  that  which  admits  of  what  is  termed  by  Mr.  Gallatin, 
splitting  the  di^rence,  nor  of  conceding;  property,  which  does 
not  belong  to  the  United  States,  nor  curtailing  a  jurisdiction 
above  their  rightful  controul.  Whatever  may  be  urged  to  the 
contrary,  it  is  confidently  asserted  not  only  that  the  provision  of 
the  treaty  of  1788  is  imperative,  but  that  it  describes  our  boun- 
6 


dary  with  a  precision  which  shames  (he  British  claim,  and,  colkV 
iiected  with  the  making  of  tliat  claim,  casts  a  shade  over  the  hii- 
tre  of  the  British  character.  By  negations  we  may  sometimes 
arrive  at  an  affirmativo.  1  say  then  that  the  boundary  on  the 
surfitce  of  the  earth,  doe<»  not  rest  along  the  Penobscot,  which 
the  British,  then  perhaps  contemplating  that  vast  empire,  they 
anticipateck  in  NortL  America,  insidiously  and  surreptitiously 
r^eized  during  the  late  war.  That  boundary  cannot  be  establitih- 
ed  there.  It  does  not  rest  where  the  British  minister  has  pre* 
sumed  to  place  lU  The  making  the  claim  does  not  determine 
.  its  justice,  nor  the  obstinacy  of  persisting  in  it  create  with  this 

{)owerful  nation  the  necessity  of  a  concession,  which  will  as  sure- 
y  be  followed  by  a  more  enormous  one,  as  it  is  certain  that  the 
Roman  Empire  was  ignominiously  subjueated  through  the  b»se 
spirit  of  submission  to  incipient  wrung.  Enough  has  been  said 
to  meet  the  obvious  and  natural  enquiry,  what  is  expected  of  the 
government,  or  may  I  not  say  what  is  demanded  of  it. — It  knows 
the  demerit  of  the  British  claim  ;  it  is  conscious  of  the  rights  of 
Maine ;  and  hereafter  it  cannot  be  said  that  her  views  hnve  not 
been  exhibited.  She  might  therefore  be  forever  justified  in  the 
exercise  of  her  jurisdiction  and  sovereign  State  rights  over  the 
'disputed  ground.  Her  faith  is  not  pledged,  nor  is  that  of  the 
Union  f o  permit  any  reduction  of  her  actual  territory,  and  there 
is  no  artifice  of  construction  or  force  of  authority  to  break  off 
that  great  component  part  of  her  domain  now  assailed,  and  to 
bind  her  judgment  to  acquiescence.  The  cesb:  -  would  be  nu- 
gatory, and  if>  for  a  time,  she  should  be  compelled  to  submit  to 
it,  the  abeyance  produced  by  power  will  riot  preclude  the  right 
of  resumption  which  justice  may  at  some  period  award. 

It  has  heen  ur^ed  that  this  concern  is  so  exclusively  national 
(hat  Maine  is  obtrusive  in  presenting  her  views  to  the  con- 
sideration  of  the  executive.  It  is,  nevertheless,  believed  that  she 
is  under  high  obligations  vigilently  to  supervise  her  interests, 
freely  to  assert  her  rights,  and  not  to  yield  readily  to  the  dis- 
couritging  but  perOectly  natural  inclination  to  see  in  her  conduct 
the  humblest  deference  and  an  entire  unquestioning,  improvident 
obedience.  She  commits  no  intentional  error  and  communes 
with  the  frankness  which  belongs  to  her  independence,  her  char- 
acter, and  her  station  with  her  sister  Kepublics  and  with  the 
Union.— >In  doing  so  she  evinces  her  respect  for  their  integrityi 
intelligence,  and  patriotism,  and  she  avoids  by  a  prudent  forecast 
that  danger  of  collision  bred  frotn  present  distrust  and  that  quer- 
ulous and  exasperated  temper  usually  exhibited  when  the  evils 
of  measures  are  experienced  and  when  caases  are  appreeiated  by 
)     their  efiects. 


i 


'-•      ^■•:'-''i>-' 


A4a  ; 

'  Repeating  to  you  the  expression  of  my  regret  that  you  ha¥«i 
been  plcnsed  to  refuse  that  information  contemplated  by  a  res- 
olution of  the  State,  1  shall  novel  itieless  continue  to  hope  Cor 
the  preservation,  under  the  protecting  care  of  government,  of 
that  now  exposed  territory,  destined  under  any  proprietor  to  be 
soon  occupied  by  a  numerous  population  engaged  in  all  the  pur« 
suits  which  sustain  hugian  Hfe  and  adota  human  nature. 


Letter  from  the  Governor  of  Maine^  to  the  Secretary  of  State  of 

the  United  States. 

Portland,  29th  ^ptH,  1827. 

Sir :  I  am  induced  by  considerations  vtrhich  1  deem  importantj 
to  avail  myself  of  your  obliging  offer,  to  obtain  copies  of  all  the 
papers  in  your  office,  relative  to  the  boundary  between  this  State 
and  New  Brunswick,  which  the  Pi-esident  may  permit  to  be  trans> 
mitted.  This  request  applies  to  maps,  with  the  exception  of  the 
map  already  furnished  of  the  Country  explored  io  the  years  IB  17, 
1818,  1819,  and  18^0,  by  order  of  the  Commissioners  under  the 
fifth  article  of  the  Treaty  of  Ghent,  by  Hiram  Burnham,  U.  $. 
Surveyor. 

I  have  the  honor  also  to  solicit  transcripts  of  the  arguments  of 
Mr.  Chipman  and  Mr.  Sullivan,  as  Agents  under  the  Commission 
for  determining  the  true  St-  Croix  ;  and  of  the  arguments  of  Mr. 
Austin  and  Mr.  Chipman,  under  the  fouilh  article  of  :he  Treaty 
of  Ghent,  together  with  the  report  of  the  Commissioners  in  both 
cases. 

Excuse  me  for  adverting  to  the  punctilio  of  eipense,  which  I 
shall  wish  to  see  liquidated. 

Ihave  made  a  communication  to  the  President  on  the  subjeot 
of  our  Northeastern  Boundary,  which  you  will  perceive  from  lis 
nature  was  necessarily  directed  immediately  to  him. 


Letter  from  the  Secr^jfary  of  State  of  the  United  States,  to  the  Gov- 
ernor of  Maine.  v : 

Washington,  9th  June,  l^'il , 

'     SiK  :  The  President  has  received  the  letter  which  your  Ex. 
^lency  addressed  to  him,  under  date  the  29th  ultimo  ;  and  } 


■^^ 


■"■m 


44 


4 


am  chari^ed  by  hitn  to  convey  to  you  his  assurances  that  your  ob- 
servations on  the  interestm^  subject  of  our  Northeastern  boun- 
dary shall  receive  attentive  and  respectful  consideration.  I  beg 
leave  to  add  that  in  no  contingency  is  any  arbitration  of  the  dif- 
ference between  the  United  Stntes  and  Great  Britain,  relative  to 
that  boundary,  contemplated,  out  that  for  which  provision  has 
been  solemnly  made  by  treaty.  It  would  afford  great  satisfaction 
to  the  President,  if  a  resort  to  that  dlternative  lor  quieting  the  dis- 
pute could  be  avoided,  by  obtaining  irom  Great  Britain  an  ex- 
plicit acknowledgment  of  the  territorial  claims  of  Maine,  in  their 
whole  extent.  Candor,  however  compels  me  to  state,  that  the 
prospects  of  such  an  acknowledgment,  at  the  present  time,  are 
not  encouraging. 


NO  23. 

Letter  from  Daniel  Brent,  Esq.  of  the  Department  of  State  of  the 
United  States,  to  the  Gevemor  of  Maine.  t 

Washington,  June  1 5, 1 827. 

Sir  :  I  was  directed  by  the  Secretary,  before  his  departure 
from  this  City,  a  few  days  ago,  on  a  visit  to  Kentucky,  to  have 
copies  prepared  of  the  Books  lac.  &c.  requested  in  your  Letter 
to  him  of  the  29th  of  May,  and  to  transmit  them  to  your  £x.cel- 
lency,  with  all  possible  dispatch  ;  and  I  have  just  collected  to- 
gether the  manuscript  Books  containing  the  argunientsof  Mr. 
Chjpmaa  and  Mi*.  Sullivan,  agents  under  the  commission  for  de- 
termining the  true  St.  Croix,  and  those  containin^^  the  arguments 
of  Mr.  Austin  and  Mr.  Chipman,  Agents  under  the  4th  Article 
of  the  Treaty  of  Ghent,  together  with  the  Reports  of  the  Com- 
missioners in  both  cases,  fourteen  iu  number,  and  averaging,  each 
about  two  hundred  and  fifty  pages  of  clobC  writing  on  foolscap 
paper  ;  transcripts  of  these  being  particularly  noticed  by  you  as 
wanting.  Added  to  those,  the  arguments,  Reports  and  Papers, 
including  the  Maps,  under  the  5th  article  of  the  Treaty  of  Ghent, 
which  come,  it  would  seem  to  me,  within  the  scope  of  your  re- 
quest, embrace  a  mass  of  writing  nearly  as  voluminous  as  that  of 
these  Books.  I  take  the  liberty  und  r  these  circumstances,  of 
troubling  your  Excellency  with  this  communication,  to  apprize 
you  of  the  extent  of  the  trahscripcs  which  appear  to  be  thus  re- 
quired, and  of  the  delay  which  must,  of  consequence,  attend  the 
execution  of  your  Excellency's  commission,  as  it  is,  at  present, 
understood  by  me. 

I  beg  leave,  however,  to  state  that  the   subject  is  involved  in 


J*  ■« 


i^ 


45 


so  much  obscurity  from  the  prolix  and  complicated  arguments, 
reports  and  replies  of  the  several  Commissioners,  agents,  nstron- 
omers  and  Surveyors,  that  f  do  not  hke  to  venture  upon  making 
a  selection  for  the  copyists,  though  1  feel  fully  persuaded  that 
this  might  be  advantageously  done  to  iho.  great  abridgement  of 
their  work,  and  to  the  expediting  of  the  fulfilment  of  your  wish. 
The  Senators  from  your  State,  Messrs.  Holmes  and  Chandler, 
have  seen  the  Books,  and,  as  well  1  recollect,  were  furnished 
with  copious  extracts  from  them;  and  perhaps,  they  might  fa- 
vor this  Departipent,  through  your  Excellency,  with  some  sirg- 
gestion  leading  to  a  convenient  curtailment,  which  should, 
nevertheless,  be  eniirely  compatible  with  your  Excellency's  ob- 
ject,  in   reference   to  the  copies  required  by  you. 


Letter  from  the  Governor  of  Maine  to  Daniel  Brent,  Esq.  of  the 
Department  of  State,  jf  the  United  States. 

Portland,    /u/^  14,  1827. 

Sir  :  I  had  the  honor  to  receive  your  letter,  referring  me  to 
the  Hon.  Messrs.  Holmef  and  Chandler,  as  to  reducing  the 
amount  of  the  draught  1  had  made  on  the  prolTered  kindness  of  the 
Secretary  of  State.  I  have  availed  myself  of  all  possible  benefit 
from  your  suggestion  ;  but  am  still  disposed  to  accept,  without 
reservation,  the  favor  he  ^o  politely  tendered,  which  is  done  with 
the  greater  sense  of  obligation,  because  that  favor  cannot  embrace 
the  principal  objects  first  contemplated,  and  is  therefore  render- 
ed more  valuable  as  to  the  residue.  It  is  also  believed  that 
Maine  ought  not  to  lose  the  opportunity  of  placing  among  her 
archives  all  those  documents  which  she  can  obtain  relating  to  a 
concern  so  important  as  that  of  a  third  of  her  territory. 

Extract  of  a  letter  from  the  Governor  of  Massachusetts  to  the  Gov* 

trnor  oj  Maine, dated,  Executive  Department  of  Massachunetls, 
•iw;v?VK>  '   t^^        Boston,  July  2d,  IS27.    '> 

■  'I  beg  also  to  avail  myself  of  this  opportunity  to  acknowledge 
the  receipt  of  several  interesting  communications  from  your  Ex- 
cellency in  reference  to  the  Northeastern  boundary,  which  will 
receive  the  most  resnectful  and  faithful  consideration.  My  own 
opinion  of  the  importance  of  the  general  views  v/hich  you  have 
in  detail,  and  with  gfcat  force,  presented,  on  this  subject,  has 
been  heretofore  exprossed  in  official  communications  to  the  Le- 
gislature of  this  Commonwealth,  and  in  a  correspondence  had 
with  the  Hfipartment  of  State  of  the  United  States 


'^mm 


Letter  from  the  Governor  of  Maine  to  the  Secretary  of  State  of" 

the  United  Stales. 

;  Portland,  September  2d.  1827, 

Sir:  Since  I  had  the  honor  of  aHdressini;  you  on  te  subject 
of  the  Northeastern  bouthJary  of  this  State,  facts  have  beea 
placed  within  my  knowledge  which  more  imperatively  than  any 
other,  urge  me  to  solicit  the  attention  of  the  President  to  the  sit- 
uation in  which  we  are  placed.  It  is  now  rendered  evident  that 
the  representation  made  to  you  and  communicated  in  your  let- 
ter of  the  27th  of  March  last,  that  the  British  government  has 
abstained  from  the  per''ormance  of  any  new  acts  which  might  be 
construed  into  an  exercise  of  the  rights  of  sovereia^nty  or  soil  over 
the  disputed  territory,  was  entirely  incorrect.  That  representa- 
tion, connected  with  the  recommendation  by  the  President,  has 
undoubtedly  had  much  influence  with  Maine  in  producing  a  foE- 
bearence,  which  will  probably  be  objected  against  her,  in  com" 
parison  with  the  opposite  course  by  Great  Britain,  as  containing 
an  implied  acki\owledgmentof  the  rightfujnessof  the  jurisdiction 
which  has  been  exercised  for  years,  by  a  foreign  Power  in  thp 
manner  and  to  an  extend  which  1  beg  leave  now  to  exhibit,  as  pre- 
sented to  mo  by  credible  testimony  Along  the  St.  Johns  river 
following  it  up  westwardly  from  the  junction  of  the  Matawascah, 
is  a  very  flourishing  settlement  containing  a  considerable  number 
of  peaceably  disposed  and  industrious  inhabitants.  Among 
these  is  a  proportion  of  American  emigrants,  some  of  whom  hold 
their  land  under  de^ds  from  Massachusetts  and  Mttiiie,  and  the 
others,  or  nearly  all  of  them  are  anxious  to  obtain  titles  in  the 
same  way.  The  latter  at  present  occupy  as  tenants  at  suflerance, 
and  neither  recognize  the  lands  as  being  Crown  lands,  nor  do 
they  voluntarily  submit  to  British  authority.  These  persons,  the 
government  of  New  Brunswick  treats  in  all  respects  as  aliensi, 
denies  their  right  to  hold  real  estate,  assesses  upon  them  the  al- 
ien tax,  and  refuses  to  permit  to  them  the  transmission  of  their 
{)roduce  as  American,  i  forbear  to  speak  of  many  acts  of  vio- 
ence  and  petty  vexation  of  which  they  also  cttmplain.  The 
other  inhabitants  are  uniformly  treated  as  British  subjects,  and 
new  acts  of  jurisdiction  even  to  requirement  of  military  duty  ar^ 
as  frequently  exercised  as  the  ordinary  operations  of  a  municipal 
control  require.  Before  expressing  to  you  the  sentiments 
which  should  be  connected  with  the  exhibition  oft hese  facts,  allow 
me  to  ask  your  attention  to  the  sacrifice  to  which  Maine  is  sub- 
initting  while  her  formidable  adversary  is  thus  ipdustriously   fot:^ 


m 


47 


"ti/ying  his  positions.  She  owns,  as  it  is  believed  as  clearly  as  shfi 
owns  any  other  portion  of  property,  a  tr<tct  not  less  than  six  mil- 
lions of  acres,  which  with  the  exception  of  about  a  Million  and  aa 
half  situated  northeastward  of  the  St.  John  and  Matawascah  is 
generally  valuable  for  soil  and  timber,  so  that  the  latter  along  one 
river  has  been  estimated  to  be  worth  $180,000  0^.  which  is  only 
e({ual  to  an  average  of  $150  00  per  square  mile.  The  useo  tb  se 
vast  resources  is  forbidden  to  her  by  the  circumstance,  that  a 
claim  is  made  upon  it  by  a  foreign  power  and  by  the  respect  she 
entertains  for  the  Pi'esident's  reccommendation  of  a  mutual  for- 
bearance ;  yet  that  Power  is  in  the  mean  time  applying  its  juiis- 
diction  in  the  same  manner  as  if  the  representations  of  its  minis^ 
ter  created  no  pledge  and  no  obligations  to  sustain  their  correct- 
ness. While  it  is  natural  that  the  same  power  should  seek  to 
render  the  Province  of  New  Brunswick  wealthy  and  powerful, 
by  the  prize  it  hopes  to  win,  it  mipht  have  been  expected  that 
there  should  be  no  repugnance  between  its  acts  and  declarations. 
The  case  which  will  be  presented,  must,  as  you  perceive,  neces- 
.  sartly  require  of  Maine,  a  consideration  of  the  duties  she  owes  to 
her  citizens,  not  left  in  the  condition  of  neutral  subjects  withoat 
government,  as  has  been  supposed,  but  actually  subjugated. 

To  allow  our  lands  to  remain  uncuhivated,and  our  public  im- 
provementjt  to  be  postponed  through  a  State  necessity,  is  a  sac- 
rifice capable  of  being  endured,  compared  with  that  of  seeing 
dominion  usurped  over  those  who  owe  us  allegiance,  and  to  whom 
protection  is  due.  It  has  been  the  doctrine  of  the  Government, 
and  of  a  great  portion  of  the  people  of  the  United  States,  at 
times  when  Great  Britain  was  heretofore  prosecuting  claims 
against  this  country,  more  extensive,  but  not  less  unjust  than  the 
present,  that  an  injury  to  a  single  citizen  inflicted  a  wound  upon 
the  body  politic,  and  that  an  evil  inflicted  upon  a  part,  demanded 
the  making  a  common  cause  for  its  remedy. 

In  such  a  sentiment,  believed  to  be  now  as  fully  as  ever  enter- 
tained, I  find  my  apology  for  th's  renewed  appeal  for  protectioo 
of  the  interfsts  of  Maine  against  the  reduction  of  its  territory  and 
the  oppression  of  its  citizens  through  foreign  interposition. 

Availing  myself  of  the  present  opportunity  to  offer  the  Presi- 
dent a  further  view  of  thi?  subject,  which  1  omitted  purposely 
on  form<  r  occasions,  it  is  flattering  to  h^  able  to  bring  in  aid  the 
analogy  of  the  opinions  understood  by  the  nation  to  have  been 
uniformly  entertained  by  our  statesmen  and  jurists  in  the  case  of 
ihe  Mississippi.  It  being  assumed  that  (he  protection  solicited 
will  be  yielded,  and  that  the  property  demanded  cannot  be  sur> 
rendered  in  any  form,  or  under  any  m<»de  of  procedure,  except 
us  superior  f9r«0  may  com|itl  iubmit^sinn  to  a  cession  of  State 


4B 


territory,  it  h  natural  to  advert  to  the  value   of  the    property  at 
stake.     That  v-alue  is  so  enhancod  as  to  place  it  beyond  celcula- 
tion  when  we  apply  the  doctrine  applied  to  the  navigation  of  the 
Mississippi,  thnt  the  own«^rship  of  the  headwaters  of  rivers  gives 
the  right  of  free  navigation  to  their  sources.     The  doctrine  sub- 
ject to  somo  modification  of  a  political  and    fiscal  character,  has 
the  same  application  under  the  laws  of  nature  and  nations,  in  rel- 
erence  to  our  right  of  navigation  through  the  St.  John,  as  this  na- 
tion nlvvays  demanded  for  it  in  coiniertion  with  the  great  ques- 
tion with  Spain,  which  called  it  iiito  view.     Let  me  intreat  you, 
then,to  look  at  once  to  the  exciting  Cause  of  the  cu|iidity  of  Great 
Britain,  and  the  anxiety  of  Maine  as  to  this  profligate  claim.  The 
materials  for  ship  building  on  the  disputed  territory,  may  be  cal- 
led inexhaustible,  and  the  soil  is  so  fertile,  that  the  M;itawascah 
settlement  exports  many  thousand  l)ushols  of  grain.     The  towns 
near  the  Biiy  of  Fundy,  both  on  the  Scoodic  and  St.  John,   un- 
der the  exclusive  policy  of  Great  Britain,  derive  immense  unnu- 
al  profits  from  ship  building,  and  they  look  with    an  unholy  in- 
terest and  intent  on  the  extensive  forests  of  Maine.     If  the  mer- 
its of  the  case  admitted  more  measured  terms,  I  should  use  them. 
But  believing  that  all  posterity  would  reprobate  the  weakness  of 
yielding  what  is  once  so  rightfully  ours,  and  so  important,  I  use 
the  freedom  which  the  occasion  demands.     Beyond  what  I  have 
urged,  let  me  add,  that  there  will  be,  if  you  shall  defeat  the  claina 
upon  our  tr  ritory  ;  a  facility  of  artificial  water   communication 
which,  regardingitsextent  is  unparalleled  in  the  geography  of  this 
country.     It  will  embrace  ill  the  waters  of  the  St.  John,  Penob- 
scot, Kennebec,  and  St.  Lawrence. 

If  the  General  Government  will  employ  an  Agent  of  this  State, 
it  will,  I  am  sure,  be  responsible  for  proving  to  him  the  correctness 
of  all  I  have  stated',  to  his  entire  satifaction,  and  io  the  most  au- 
thentic forms. 

I  cannot  close  without  assuring  you  of  my  confirmed  belief, 
that  Maine  will  never  assent  to  the  r.  suit  ol  an  arbitration  unfa- 
vorable toiler  interests  in  the  great  concern  in  reference  to  which 
my  duty  has  compelled  me  to  trouble  you  with  my  repeated  com- 
munications. 


;v/ 


v^j  -   ^ 


'■"■'<,'i'-..; 


Letter  from  the  Secretary  of  State,  of  the  United  States,  to  ike  Gov- 
—  crnor  of  Maine. 

•        V  ;•     ,  Washington.  \\tK  Sept.  1 827. 

Sir  :    I  have  received  the  Letter  which  your  Excellency  did 


49 

me  the  honor  to  address  to  me  oa  the  third  Ins.tant,  and  I  have 
lost  no  time  in  transmitting  a  eopy  of  it  to  tb«  President  of  tht 
United  States,  who  will  no  doubt  give  to  it  the  most  respectful 
and  deliberate  e;camiiiation.  In  the  mean  time  I  have  also  trans- 
mitted an  extract  from  it  to  the  British  Minister,  accompanied  by 
the  expression  that  the  necessary  orders  will  be  given,  on  the 
part  of  the  British  Government,  to  enforce  thai  mutniil  forbear- 
ance from  any  new  acts  tending  to  strengthen  the  claims  of  ci- 
ther party  to  the  disputed  territory,  which  it  has  been  understood 
in  the  correspondence  between  Mr.  Vaughan  and  layseU*,  would 
be  observed  on  both  sides. 


.iro.  27.   •    ■  -    ■ 

Letter  from  the  Governor  of  Maine,  to  thi  Lieutenant  Governor 
,.^_.  of  JVew  Brunswick.  v  '         v    •     ' 

..   ".     ...  Portland,  Oct.  22,  1821. 

Sm :  It  has  been  represented  to  me,  as  Governor  of  the  State 
of  Maine,  that  one  of  its  citizens,  of  the  name  of  John  Baker, 
while  residing  on  its  territory,  has  been  arrested  and  is  detained 
in  gaol  at  Fredericton.  A  circumstance  so  interesting  to  the 
peace  and  character  of  the  State  and  Country  compels  me  to  so- 
licit information  which  I  do  with  the  respect  and  amicable  dlspo* 
sition  due  authorities  of  a  neighboring  government.  Il  Is  hopp- 
ed that  you  will  be  pleased  to  communicate  ull  the  facts  in  the 
case,  and  that  the  result  will  be  to  allay  the  anxiety  produced  by 
the  Impression  that  the  privileges  of  an  American  Cititen  and  the 
jurisdiction  of  a  sovereign  prwer  has  been  invaded.  Maine  hat 
not  only  a  wish  to  be  amicably  conm^cted  with  New  Brunswick, 
but  her  interests  impel  her  to  seek  a  friendly  intercommunlcatioii ; 
yet  yon  must  be  aware  that  honor  and  justice  demand  of  her  the 
utmost  respect  and  devotion  on  her  part  to  the  rights  of  every 
citizen. 

The  attempt  to  extend  the  jurisdiction  of  New  Brunswick  over 
the  disputed  territory  will  compel  counteraction  from  Maine. — 
The  result  must  be  productive  of  so  much  evil  that  it  is  not  deem- 
ed indelicate  or  disrespectful  to  advert  to  it.  The  arrest  of  our 
citizens  on  what  we  believe  to  be  a  part  of  our  State  will  demand 
ill  utmost  energies  for  resistance. 


did 


50 


mUAc 


WO.  38. 

JWr.  Baveis*  ^appointment. 
fITATK  OF  MAINi:. 


i 


(  I 


Potrtland,  Nov.  5,  \m 
piQrlef  SdMari  Jhveht  Efq.  Portland. 

Sm:  I  ^m  directeid  to  inform  yQ^,  that  ^ou  have  thU  day  teen  appoUuett 
hv  the  Governor  of  this  State,  an  agent,  with  anthority  to  act  in  behalf  of  the 
State  of  Maine;  in  obtaining  information,  either  informal,  or  by  authenticated 
lUtementft,  as  to  all  objects  relating  to  rights  of  property  and  jurisdictio*  be- 
tween the  governments  of  tlie  said  State,  and  tl\e  Pjrovijice  of  NewRruiwwiQK, 

I  Have  the  honor  to  be,  with  great  respect,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

AMOS  NICHOLS,  a  tertiary  of  State. 


JM^O.  29. 

Letter  from  the  Governor  qf  tfye  State  of  Maine  to  the  LieuteU' 

ant  Governor  of  J^ew  Brunstnck. 

.;4;.'-.  ■  •  .■■', 

Portland,  JStov.  5^A,  18??, 

'  ..^t^ :  I  bfive  the  honor  to  solicit  your  frieodly  f9pepdiN>  of 
Charles  S,  Dayeis,  Enquire,  appointed  to  obtain  information  r*\* 
9Xive  to  our  border  difficulties.  It  has  been  coavdered  due  to 
yourself  to  select,  for  this  Agency,  a  gentleman  ok  high  charac^ 
tfiv,  and  who  in  the  most  acceptable  maaoer,  may  io«Hiir«  intp 
Qoncerns  calculated  tq  prodtice  a  w^r  between  t^Ks  United  State» 
«n4  Great  Britain,  unless  by  the  forbearance  of  injuries  by  New 
Brunswick  and  Maine,  it  may  be  prevented. 

In  whatever  polut  of  view  yutt  may  regard  thi«  snbject,  | 
bave  full  confidence  that  jfou  will  permit  Mr.  Daveis,  if  only  in 
the  capacity  of  a  stranger  and  ?  gentleman,  to  pass  witk  your 
countenance  tlirough  the  territory  over  which  you  preside,  to 
ibe  (liBTerent  portions  of  country  be  may  wish  to  visit,  £br  the 
murpose  of  ascertainipg  the  i'acts  relative  to  compUints  of  vip? 
fence  and  injustice  co.nmitted  on  the  citizens  of  Maine. 

This  measure  bar  been  adopted,  not  to  interrupt,  but  to  cber- 
jsh,  tbe  most  respectful  sentiments,  and  timicable  disposition,  be- 
tween all  tha«<i  who  rasy  be  concerned. 

Mr.  Daveis'  authority  does  not  specially  designate  his  objee^ ', 
but  you  anp  requested  to  consider  him  as  fully  efl»pow«red  to 
demand  the  release  of  John  Baker,  a  citizen  of  JVfaine,  aaid  tq 
be  confined  in  the  Gaol  at  Fredericton,  and  that  the  persons, 
who  arrested  him  and  conveyed  him  there,  may  be  delivered  up 
to  be  tried  by  the  laws  of  this  State,  and  dealt  with  as  justice 
may  require.  C 


i 


'V 


.-.y 


y. 


'1 

lAtttrfrvm  ike  SecrAtary  of  Stale  of  the  United  Statetrtothr* 
^^  OoternotofMahte.  i 

Washington,  30th  October,  1827. 

SNA:  I  hate  cotni»itt«d  to  the  charge  of  Mr.  William  FrciMtib^ 
who  WHi  have  the  honor  to  deliver  them  and  tht«  Imter  tb  yoar  fix- 
eelleiiey,  and  who  is  employed  foi  that  purpose,  twenty- <bur  mana- 
ileript  VOiuikMs  ttf  Books,  according  to  the  accompanying  lidt,  oil  the 
§fJliiJ66t  of  the  Ndrth  and.Northeasteily  Boundary  lines  of  the  Uiii- 
tiedSlwteii  prepated  at  this  office  for  the  State  of  Maine,  eoi^formA- 
bly  with  the  Mfgesttoiis  and  desire  expressed  by  your  Bxeeltency. 
F^o^  the  extent  of  these  manuscripts,  it  is  more  than  probable  that 
they  eAihrace  eopies  of  a  great  deal  more,  in  docnraents,  disotission 
Aiid  argument,  than  was  in  the  contemplation  of  your  Excellency,  or 
that!  was  desired  for  the  use  of  your  State  ;  but  to  secure  a  full  com- 
pHntttie  with  your*  Excellency's  views,  and  to  guard  against  any  d«- 
fieiency,  I  gave  directions  to  have  a  transcript  made  of  everything 
^hieh  might  by  possibility  be  useful  or  interesting  upon  the  occa- 
nidn,  having  the  remotest  bearing  upon  the  Sdbject,  with  the  limita- 
tion Mated  in  my  previous  correspondence  ;  and  as  the  selection 
was  necessarily  committed  to  others,  who  may  not  have  hiid  a  very 
aoearate  view  of  the  extent  of  the  Commission  entrusted  to  thein,  it 
i^notirtiprobable  that  it  niiay  comprise  much  which  maybe  found 
raf)erflaous. 

I  send  also,  forty-two  copies  of  maps<  likewise  prepared  with  the 
tame  VieWi,  and  under  the  same  circumstances,  which  Mr.  FreiMisa 
will  also  have  the  honor  to  deliver  to  yonr  Excellency. 

•.V,  ^f 


A: 


•t 


%  WO.  31. 

Letter  from  the  Ooveruor  of  Maine^  to  the  Secretary  of  Stat€  of  the 


United  States, 


ii^it 


PorilamI,  leth  l^ov.  l&fFT.' 

(Sir  :  t  have  received  the  documents  you  caused  io  be  transmittied 
with  the  satisfaction  naturally  eicited  by  eo  valuable  a  testimonial 
of  regard  for  the  wishes  of  this  State.  An  attention  Which  has  oc- 
casioned so  much  trouble,  cannot  falil  to  produce  a  strong  sentimenlt 
of  respect,  and  to  call  into  action  a  proper  sensibility,  in  acknowl- 
edgment of  a  burdensome  service,  from  those  very  deeply  interested 
in  obtaining  it. 

X  have  also  this  day  received  your  communication  of  thd  date  of 
the  lOth  instant.  From  its  contents,  I  am  made  sensible  that  the  ob- 
jections I  have  had  the  honor  to  urge  against  the  submisjbion  to  a 
foreign  umpire  of  the  territorial  and  jurisdictional  rights  of  Maine, 
without  consulting  or  advising  her  as  to  the  conditions,  have  not 
been  deemed  available.    If  any  injury  shall  result  to  her,  the  ap- 


•^^^iftfmmt 


pp 


mmmmm 


58 


CtA  will  b«  made  to  the  people  of  thii  country  and  to  posterity.  It 
s  not  leemed  arrogant  or  presumptuous  to  have  expected  a  re- 
eofnition  of  her  rights,  and  to  have  asked  that  if  she  is  to  be  made  a 
sacrifice,  she  might  not  be  devoted  without  some  consideration  on 
her  part  of  the  terms. 

It  is  not  probable  that  your  various  important  engagements  can 
iMkve  allowed  to  my  former  communicationa  more  than  the  cursory 
glance,  which  enables  the  officer  in  npiost  cases  to  dispatch  business, 
•specially  in  those  cases  in  regard  to  which  he  has  marked  out  his 
eoiirso ;  but»  to  save  repetition,  1  must  ask  your  indulgence  to  refer 
to  thoM  communications  as  containing  statements  and  principles 
near  to  the  hearts  and  interests  of  this  community.  When  you 
cautioned  us  against  suggestions  of  compromise  and  acts  of  pre- 
caution, it  was  not  believed  that  it  was  that  you  might  the  more 
easily  throw  us  within  the  power  of  an  umpire,  but  that  you  intend- 
ed to  intimate  that  the  powerful  arm  of  the  federal  government  was 
holding  its  ample  shield  before  us.  At  last  we  learn  that  our  strength, 
security  and  wealth  are  to  be  subjected  to  the  mercy  of  a  foreign  in- 
dividual, who,  it  has  been  said  by  your  minister,  **  rarely  decides 
upon  strict  principles  of  law,"  and  "  has  always  a  bias  to  try,  if 
possible,  to  split  the  difference-"  I  cannot  but  yield  to  the  impulse 
of  Mying  most  respoctitiUy  that  Maine  has  not  been  treated  as  she 
has  endeavored  to  deserve. 

The  painful  duty  of  laying  before  you  the  testimony  to  prove  the 
aggressions  committed  upon  citizens  of  this  State,  by  inhabitants  of 
New  Brunswick,  was  seasonably  discharged.  It  is  feared  that  the 
violienee  committed,  has  been  but  the  commencement  of  a  system. 
The  President  will  surely  bestow  his  attention  upon  the  case  of 
John  Baker,  whois  stnv^dto  have  been  arrested  on  land  conveyed 
to  him  in  fee  simple,  in  the  year  1625,  by  the  Commonwealth  of 
Massachusetts  and  the  State  of  Maine.  The  conveyance  was  vir- 
tually a  certificate  of  cititenship  and  a  pledge  for  protection.  It 
was  also  an  act  of  State  policy,  a  deliberate  political  measure,  and 
the'* Old  Commonwealth"  and  this  Republic  may  well  call  upon 
the  President  and  Secretary  of  State  to  be  their  protectors.  All 
those  who  have  contended  against  the  impressment  of  the  sailor  in 
our  ships,  will  resent  the  arrest  of  the  yeoman  on  the  frontier.  Con- 
necting this  injury  with  others,  which  have  been  suffered  and 
threatened,  it  has  been  deemed  pioper  to  appoint  an  Agent  of  the 
State,  to  inquire  in  a  friendly  and  respectful  manner,  into  the  facts, 
whose  report  will  enable  me  to  answer  fully  and  correctly  the  ques- 
tions you  have  proposed.  It  is  with  great  deference,  submitted  that 
every  investigation  of  this  subject,  will  satisfy  the  federal  govern- 
ment that  the  representations  I  have  had  the  honor  to  present, 
might  have  been  worthy  a  serious  consideration,  which  I  doubt  not 
they  have  received,  although  possibly <too  late.  The  communica- 
tioas  to  the  Lieut.  Governor  of  New  Brunswick,  and  other  docu- 
manti  will  accompany  this  letter. 


■■'■  *i 
t 

4 


■    ■'■% 


..  ■,^l^,.."•"^ 


r-.>v" 


Br  THE 


59 

NO.  32. 

PROCLAMATION. 

STATE    OF    MAINE. 

GOVERJVOR  OF  THE  STATE  OF  MJlIJVE. 

A  PROCLAMATION. 


Whereas  it  hu  been  made  known  to  this  State,  that  one  of  its  citizens  has 
been  conveyed  from  it,  by  a  Foreign  Power,  to  a  gaol  in  the  Province  of  New- 
Brunswick  ;  and  that  many  trespasses  have  been  committed  by  inhabitants  of 
the  same  Province  upon  the  sovereignty  of  Mame  and  the  rights  of  those  she 
is  bound  to  protect. 

Be  It  also  known,  that,  relying  on  the  government  and  people  of  the  Union, 
the  proper  exertion  will  be  applied  to  obtain  reparation  and  security. 

Those,  therefore,  suffering  «vrong,  or  threatened  with  it,  and  those  interested 
by  sympathy,  on  account  of  the  violation  of  our  territory  and  immunities,  are 
•xhorted  to  forbearance  and  peace,  so  that  the  preparations  for  preventing  the 
removal  of  our  land  marks,  and  guarding  the  sacred  and  inestimable  rights  of 
American  citizens  may  not  be  embarrassed  by  any  unauthorized  acts. 

ENOCH  LINCOLN. 

BY    THB    OOVXRNOR. 

AMOS  NICHOLS,  Secretary  of  State, 


CoUNCiii  Chamber, 
Portland,  JVov.  9,    1827 


J 


NO.  33. 

Extract  of  a  Letter  from  the  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United 
States^  to  the  Governor  of  J^laine. 

Washinotow,  27th  Nov.  1827.      ' 

Sir  :  I  have  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  the  Letter  which  your  Excellent 
oy  did  me  the  honor  to  address  to  me  on  the  16th  instant,  with  its  accompany- 
tnents,  all  of  whichthave  been  laid  before  the  President.  He  sees  with  great 
regret  the  expression  of  the  sentiment  of  your  Excellency,  that  "  Maine  has 
not  been  treated  as  she  has  endeavored  to  deserve.*'  Without  engaging,  at 
this  time,  in  a  discussion  of  the  whole  subject  of  our  dispute  with  Great  Britain 
about  the  Northeastern  boundary  of  the  United  States,  in  which  the  State  of 
Maine  is  so  deeply  interested,  which  would  be  altogether  unprofitable,  I  aia 
sure  I  shall  obtain  your  Excellency's  indulgence  for  one  or  two  general  obser- 
vations which  seem  called  for  by  the  above  sentiment. 

By  the  Treaty  of  Ghent,  on  the  contingency  which  unhappily  occnrred,  of 
a  non-concurrence  between  the  British  and  American  Commissioners  in  fixing 
that  boundary,  they  were  directed  respectively  to  report  to  their  Governments, 
and  the  difference  thus  loft  unadjusted  was  to  be  referred  to  a  Sovereign  Arbi- 
trator. Your  Excellency,  in  the  course  of  the  correspondence  which  has  pass- 
ed between  you  and  this  Department,  has  protested  against  this  reference,  and 
your  objections  to  it  have  received  the  most  respectful  consideration.  The 
fulfilment  of  solemn  obligations  imposed  upon  the  United  States  by  the  faith 
•f  treaties  ;  and  the  duty  with  which  the  President  is  charged  by  the  consti- 
tution, of  taking  care  that  the  laws  (of  which  our  treaties  with  foreign  powers 
form  part)  be  faithfully  executed,  did  not  appear  to  leave  him  at  liberty  to 
decline  the  stipulated  reference.  If  any  other  practical  mode  of  settling  the 
differences  had  occurred,  or  been  suggested  by  your  Excellency,  to  the  Presi- 
dent, it  would  have  received  friendly  and  deliberate  consideration. 

It  is  certainly  most  desirable  that  Nations  should  arrange  all  differences  be- 
tween them,  by  direct  negotiation,  rather  than  through  the  friendly  agency  of 
third  powers.  This  has  been  attempted  and  has  failed.  The  Government  of 
the  United  States  i»  fully  convinced  that  the  right  to  the  territory  in  dispute  it 


^m 


54 


y/i'Ai  us  and  not  wi4h  Great  Britain.  The  convictions  of  Maine  are  not  ttrongor 
in  reauect  to  the  valjdity  of  our  title,  than  theae  which  are  entertained  by  the 
Pruiiiuont.  But  Great  Britain  profesaoa  to  believe  the  contrary.  The  parties 
caniuvi  come  to  the  same  conclusion.  In  this  state  of  things  what  ought  to  bo 
done  .'  National  disputes  can  be  settled  only  amicably  or  by  an  appeal  to  the 
sword.  All  will  agree  that  before  resorting  to  the  latter  dreadful  alternative, 
every  friendly  and  peaceful  measure  should  bo  tried  and  have  failed.  It  is  a 
happy  expedient,  where  nations  cannot  themselves  adjust  their  differences,  to 
avail  themselves  of  the  umpirage  of  a  friendly  and  impartial  power.  It  multi- 
plies the  chances  of  avoiding  the  greatest  of  human  calamities.  It  is  true  that 
it  is  a  mode  not  free  from  all  objection,  and  Mr.  Gallatin  has  adverted  to  one, 
in  the  extract  which  you  give  from  one  of  his  despatches.  But  objectionable 
as  it  may  be,  it  is  better  and  not  more  uncertain  than  the  events  of  war.  Your 
Excellency  seems  to  think  that  the  clearness  of  our  right  should  prevent  the 
submission  of  the  controversy  to  an  Arbitrator.  But  the  other  party  professes  to 
be  equally  convinced  of  the  indisputable  naturs  of  his  claim  ;  and  if  that  con- 
sideration were  to  operate  bn  the  one  side,  it  would  equally  influence  the  other. 
The  consequence  will  be  at  once  perceived.  Besides,  the  clearness  of  our  title 
will  attend  it  before  the  Arbitrator,  and,  if  we  are  not  deceived  in  it,  his  favor- 
able decision  is  inevitable. 

The  President  regrets,  therefore,  that  in  conducting  the  negotiation  with 
Great  Britain,  he  could  not  conform  to  the  views  of  your  Excellency,  by  re- 
fusing to  carry  into  effect  a  treaty,  to  the  execution  of  which  the  good  faith  of 
the  Nation  stood  pledged,  and  which  was  moreover  enjoined  by  the  express 
terms  of  the  Constitution. 

But,  if  he  could  have  brought  himself  to  disregard  this  double  obligation 
under  which  he  is  placed,  how  could  the  interests  of  Maine  have  been  ad- 
vanced ?  Both  parties  stand  pledged  to  each  other  to  practice  forbearance, 
and  to  abstain  from  further  acts  of  sovereignty  on  the  unoccupied  waste,  until  - 
the  question  of  right  is  settled.  If  that  question  cannot  be  settled  by  the  par> 
ties  themselves,  and  may  not  be  settled  by  arbitration,  how  is  it  to  be  deter- 
mined i  The  regaining  alternative  has  been  suggested.  Whether  the  time 
has  arrived  for  the  use  of  that,  does  not  belong  to  the  President,  but  to  anoth- 
er branch  of  the  Government  to  decide. 

1  cannot  but  hope  that  your  Excellency,  upon  a  review  of  the  whole  subject, 
in  a  spirit  of  candor,  will  be  disposed  to  think,  that  the  Executive  of  the  Uni- 
ted  States  has  been  endeavoring  with  the  utmost  zeal,  in  regard  to  our  North- 
eastern boundary,  to  promote  tub  true  interests  of  the  United  States  and  of  > 
the  State  of  Maiue  ;  and  that  this  respectable  State  has  been  treated  neither 
with  neglect  nor  injustice.  < 


!i   1 


NO.  34* 

Letter  from  the  Lieutenant   Governor  of  ^ew- Brunswick  to  the 

Governor  of  Maine. 
Fhedericton,  New-Brunswick,  15th  Nov.  1827. 

Sir:  I  have  the  honor  to  acknnwlctlge  the  receipt  of  your  Gxceliancy'v 
letter  of  the  22d  October,  requtistin^  me  to  caminunicate  all  the  circum- 
stances respecting  the  arrest  of  the  indivuiual  named  in  your  ExcellencyV 
letter. 

It  is  not  for  me  to  question  the  propriety  of  your  Excellency's  opening 
a  correspondence  with  the  Government  of  this  Province,  on  a  question 
DOW  pending  in  negotiation  between  his  Majesty's  Government  and  the 
Government  of  the  United  States,  ns  contracted  under  the  treaty  of 
Ghent ;  hut  it  would  neither  be  consistent  with  nay  sense  of  dnty,  nor  in 
conformity  with  my  insiructions,  to  give  the  explanations  your  Excellency 


.«,-,. 


I 


i:  ' 


05 

request*,  to  nny  persons  excepting  thoM  with  whom  I  am  cRreeted  to  cor* 
redpond,  or  under  who«e  ortlert  lam  placed. 

Hhiiuld  any  reference  be  made  by  the  General  Qovernment  of  the  United 
States,  t«i  Ilia  Majeaty's  Miniaf'r,  upon  this  or  any  other  matter  connected 
with  the  Onverntnent  ofthie  PruTliice,it  will  be  my  duty  to  afford  hia  Ex- 
cellency the  fulleal  information  to  enable  him  to  give  whatever  explana- 
tion he  may  deem  profier. 

Although  for  theae  reaaons  1  muat  decline  any  further  correapondence 
with  your  Excellency  on  thia  subject,  yet  it  \a  m  entire  unison  with  the 
flvntimenta  aiul  diafioaition  which  I  know  to  niiimite  lliti  Mnjo»'ty'a  Uov- 
erninent,  that  1  take  this  occaaion  loaaaure  your  Excellency  of  my  aincere 
au<l  cordial  deaire  to  do  all  in  my  power,  ao  far  as  I  persoualk  am  at  lib- 
erty, to  use  any  diacretion  in  the  duties  with  which  I  am  imfierativi'ly 
charged,  to  meet,  with  reapect  and  consideration,  the  amicable  dis|>oaitiori 
whicn  your  Excellency  proCesses.  I  trust  my  conduct  will  be  found  to 
evince  a  juat  and  manifest  solicitude  to  repress  and  punish  any  acta  on  the 
diMjiuted  territory,  which  might  lead  to  the  interruption  of  n  good  under- 
standing between  the  two  uouniriea,and  to  keep  the  question  in  a  ataie 
propitious  fur  a  speedy  and  atnicable  adjuattnent. 


In  the  Supreme  Court Exchequer  Side. 

York,  to  wit.  Be  it  romemliered,  that  Thomas  Wetmore,  Esq.  At- 
torney General  of  our  Sovereign  Lord  the  King,  for  this,  his  Majesty's 
Province  of  New-Brunswick,  who  prosecutes  for  our  said  Lord  the  King, 
comes  ill  his  own  proper  (lerson  into  the  Court  of  our  said  Lord  the  King 
before  the  Justices  of  our  said  Lord  the  King,  at  Fredericton,  on  the  se- 
venteenth day  of  September,  in  the  eighth  year  of  the  Reign  of  our  Sove- 
reign Lord  the  now  King,  and  for  our  said  Lord  the  King,  gives  the  Court 
here  to  understand  and  lie  informed,— That  Whereas  a  certain  Tract  or 
Parcel  of  Land  situate  in  the  Parish  of  Kent,  in  the  County  of  York,  in 
the  said  Province,  and  lying  on  both  sidea  of  the  River  Saint  John,  be 
iween  the  mouth  of  the  Mudawuska  River  and  the  Kiver  Saint  Francis 
and  containing  in  the  whole  /ifiy  thousand  acres,  in  the  hands  ami  |  os- 
aession  of  our  said  Lord  the  King,  on  the  first  day  of  February,  in  the 
first  year  of  his  Reign,  and  before  and  continually  after,  was,  and  of  right 
ought  to  be,  and  yet  ought  to  he,  in  the  right  of  hia  Imperial  Crown  of  the 
United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  and  as  part  of  the  Domin- 
ions of  our  said  Lord  the  King,  in  this  Province :  and  for  so  long  a  time 
as  there  is  no  remembrance  of  any  man  to  the  contrary,  baa  been  ill  tho 
possession  of  the  said  Lord  the  King,  and  hia  Predecessors,  the  Kings 
and  Queens  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  and  a  part  of  the  Domiriionji  of 
the  said  Crown.— Nevertheless,  one  John  Baker,  of  the  Parish  aforesaid, 


Reign  of  our  aaid  present  Sovereign  Lord  the  King,  and  on  divers  days 
and  times,  before  and  since,  with  force  and  arms  and  without  any  lawful 
authority,in  and  upon  the  possession  of  the  said  Lord  the  King,ol'a  part  of 
his  said  '  landu,  to  wit,  100  acres  thereof,  lying  on  the  westerly  side  of  the 
Land  Turtle  or  Mariumpticook  River,  a  branch  of  the  said  River  St  John, 
at  the  Parish  aforesaid,  in  the  County  aforesaid,  intruded  and  entered  and 
erected  and  built  thereon  a  certain  House  and  other  edifices,  and  cut  and 
felled  divers,  to  wit,  five  hundred  timber  and  other  trees  thereon  standing 
and  growing,  of  the  value  together  of  one  hundred  pounds,  and  took  and 
carried  away  the  timber  and  wood  arising  from  tiie  ("uid  trees,  and  of  his 
own  will  disposed  thereof,  and  the  issues  and  profits  of  the  satne  lands  ac- 


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56' 

tiruiqj^,  r«eeived,  and  had,  and  yet  doth  receife  and  have  to  hie  own  uae 
and  Mill  holils  and  keeps  potHeaaion  of  the  land*  ;  and  the  said  Treaapaaa 
aforesaid  hitherto  and  yet  continuing  to  the  great  annoyanre  of  our  Mid 
Lord  the  King,  in  contempt  of  our  said  Lord  the  King — and  contrary  to 
the  laws  and  against  the  |ieace  of  our  said  Lord  the  King. 

Whereupon  the  said  Attorney  General  of  our  said  Lord  the  King,  for 
the  said  Lord  the  King,  prays  the  advice  of  the  Court  here  in  the  premi- 
MB,  and  that  the  aforesaid  John  Baker  come  here  to  answer  the  said  Lord 
the  King  in  the  premises. 

(Sicned,)  T.  WETMORE,  Momey  tkMrtd. 

Indorsed,    J.  M.  BLItJS  : 

Sxamined  by  me,  and  certified  to  be  a  true  copy, 

T.  R.  Wbtmohc,  Cltrk  to  tht  Momey  OMtnU. 
38th  November,  1897. 


STATE  OF  MAINE, 

Office  of  the  Secretary  of  State, 
Portland,  Feb.  18,  1828. 

It  is  hereby  certified  that  the  Documents  contained  in  this 
Pamphlet  have  been  comfuired  with  the  originals,  records 
and  copies,  remaining  in  this  Office,  and  appear  to  be  cor- 
rectly printed,  with  the  exception  of  the  errors  noted  in  the 

A.  mCnOhS,  Secretary  of  States 


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our  Mid 

inirary  to 

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MKlLord 

kfMrtd. 


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